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One of the more curious aspects of the Palace of Versailles is the chapels. The reign of Louis XIV, Versailles saw no fewer than five chapels.
- 1st Chapel
The château’s first chapel dated from the time of Louis XIII and was located in detached pavilion at the northeast of the château (today, La pièce de la vaisselle d'or or le Cabinet de Mme Adélaïde occupies the approximate site). This chapel, which followed the palatine model, was widely used in France. Sainte-Chapelle in Paris is a prototypical example; all successive chapels at Versailles followed the palatine model: a chapel of two floors, the upper floor reserved for the monarch and members of the royal family (corresponding with the main floor of the royal residence, so that the king would not be obligated to negotiate a stairway in order hear an ordinary mass), and the lower floor at ground level used by members of the court and the royal household. The king himself only descended to the lower floor of his chapels on rare and important occasions. Versailles' first chapel was destroyed in 1665 when the Grotto de Thétis was built.
- 2nd Chapel
The château’s second chapel was created during Louis XIV’s second building campaign. When the envelope of Louis LeVau was completed, the chapel was situated in the grand apartment de la reine (it formed the symmetrical pendant with the salon de Diane in the grand appartement du roi). This palatine model chapel was short-lived. When Louis XIV began his third building campaign, this chapel was converted to the salle des gardes de la reine.
- 3rd Chapel
Located next to the new salle des gardes de la reine, this chapel was itself transitory. Soon after its construction, Louis XIV found it inconvenient and impractical for his needs as well as those of his court. In 1682, this room was converted into the grande salles des gardes de la reine (and now exists as la salle du sacre).
- 4th Chapel
With the construction of the aile Nord, a new palatine model chapel was built. Construction of the North wing necessitated the destruction of the Grotto de Thétis; it was on this site that the new chapel was built in 1682.
When the 4th chapel was constructed, the salon de l’Abondance, which had served as entry to the petit appartement du roi, was transformed into the vestibule of the royal tribune — so named as it was from this upper level that the royal family heard daily mass. This chapel remained in use by the king and court until 1710, and was witness to most of the baptisms and weddings of members of the court and royal family during the reign of Louis XIV. Today the salon d’Hercule and the lower vestibule occupy the space of this site.
- 5th Chapel
As the focal point of Louis XIV's fourth (and last) building campaign, the final chapel of the château of Versailles is an unreserved masterpiece. Begun in 1689, construction was halted due to the War of the League of Augsburg; Jules Hardouin-Mansart resumed construction in 1699. Hardouin-Mansart continued working on the project until his death in 1708, at which time his brother-in-law, Robert de Cotte, finished the project. It was to become the largest of the royal chapels at Versailles, and in fact the height of its vaulting alone was allowed to disturb the rather severe horizontality everywhere else apparent in the palace's roof-line, leading to the design being badly treated by some contemporaries at the time (most notably perhaps by the memoirist Saint-Simon, who considered it an "enormous catalfalque"). Nevertheless, the magnificent interior has been widely admired to the present day.
Dedicated to Saint Louis, patron saint of the Bourbons, the chapel was consecrated in 1710. The palatine model is of course traditional; however, the Corinthian colonnade of the tribune level is of a classic style that anticipates the neo-classicism of the late-18th century, although its contrivance here is of remarkable virtuosity. The tribune level is accessed by a vestibule that was constructed at the same time as the chapel. The bas-relief sculpture in this entrance room, "Louis XIV Crossing the Rhine", was sculpted by Nicolas et Guillaume Coustou and was originally intended to decorate the salon de la Guerre. The floor of the chapel itself is inlaid with multi-colored marbles, and at the foot of the steps leading to the altar is Louis XIV’s crowned monogram of an interlaced double “L”. Adhering to ecclesiastical themes, the chapel’s decoration refers to both the Old and New Testaments: the ceiling of the nave represents “God the Father in His Glory Bringing to the World the Promise of Redemption” and was painted by Antoine Coypel; the half-dome of the apse is decorated with Charles de LaFosse’s “The Resurrection of Christ”; and, above the royal tribune is Jean Jouvenet’s “The Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Virgin and the Apostles.”
During the 18th century, the chapel witnessed many court events. Te Deums were sung to celebrate military victories and the births of children born to the king and queen (fils de France); marriages were also celebrated in this chapel, such as the wedding of the dauphin — later Louis XVI — to Marie-Antoinette in 1770. However, of all the ceremonies held in the chapel, those associated the Order of Holy Spirit were among the most elaborate.
Today the chapel, which has been re-consecrated, serves as a venue for chamber concerts.
