The invisible collection of the mirrors of Versailles

Abstract

The National Museum of Versailles owns the collection of the first type of mirrors whose reflections were described as pictures by La Font de Saint-Yennes, in 1747. These mirrors were made of cast melted glass, a technique invented in the late 17th century, allowing larger reflections compared to those possible in the former mirrors made of blown glass plates. The article analyses how the use of mural mirrors in Versailles became a pattern of French interior architecture during the 18th century, and how the texts of that period describe the reception of their reflections. The description of the images formed by reflection as pictures, according to Saint-Yenne, who identifies a crisis in French historical painting as consequence of the substitution of paintings by mirrors, constitutes the first conception of contemporary art, because the people reflected in mirrors would act as images. However, this inaugural dimension of the mirror collection of Versailles remains invisible to the present visitors of the institution. The current situation of this asset clarifies the challenges of incorporating contemporary art into the collections of museums.