The Grand Dauphin exhibition at Versailles

Hyacinthe Rigaud: Portrait of the Great Dauphin 1708  Madrid, Palacio Real

 We have all heard about the "Sun King" Louis XIV who built the palace of Versailles, but who knows about his son "The Grand Dauphin"?  This Louis is largely forgotten by history.

Versailles has devoted an excellent exhibition to him. Memorialist Saint-Simon called him "Son of a king, father of a king but never a king himself."  He also unkindly described the Grand Dauphin as "wallowing in fat and lethargy"!  Louis the Grand Dauphin (1661-1711), was given a new title at birth: "Monseigneur".  

The above painting shows the Grand Dauphin in heroic action as a conqueror at the siege of Philippsburg in 1688 which opened the way to Germany. He was 27 years old.   He holds the marshal's baton and wears the white sash of royalty. The royal palace in Spain has loaned the above portrait, along with some precious items from the Dauphin's collection, including a pair of  fine marquetry chests: 

chest of drawers ca 1690-1700 attributed to Renaud Gaudron
Palacio de la Zarzuela, Madrid

The Grand Dauphin had a collection second only to his father's and it was his father the king who started him off with several precious works of art. Their tastes were very similar and Monseigneur never challenged his father's authority. The Raphael below, normally to be seen in the Louvre, was one of his starter items:

Raphael and Giulio Romano: Portrait of Dona Isabel de Requesens, vice-queen of Naples  1518 Louvre

Some of Monseigneur's collection followed his second son down to Spain, some found its way to the Louvre, like the rock crystal water fountain below:

Table water fountain by Sarachi workshop, Milan ca 1580  rock crystal, enamelled gold and gilded silver  Musée du Louvre

Other priceless treasures once belonging to Monseigneur have been loaned from the Prado Museum, Madrid:

Jade cup (China, Qing Dynasty) and vermilion base (Michel Debourg 17thC) 
Madrid, Prado

A fourteenth century white Chinese vase below has been loaned from Dublin, Ireland:

Yuan Dynasty vase ca 1300-30 Blue-white porcelain national Museum of Ireland, Dublin

A special study was designed for the Grand Dauphin in his Versailles apartment with exotic parquet flooring and heart-shaped mirrors behind marquetry cabinets reflecting  his precious treasures to infinity. This study, created by illustrious cabinet maker André-Charles Boulle, was a masterpiece which has since been destroyed.

Qing Dynasty vases from Madrid and king Charles III, England

The Grand Dauphin had the best collection of  Boulle work. Hundreds of agates and crystals were exhibited along with twenty bronze statues in the marquetry cabinets. The decorative parquet floor was so fragile that visitors had to put on soft slippers. 

André-Charles Boulle: octagonal stand ca 1685-7 tortoise-shell, brass, tin and
blue-tinted horn marquetry  Fondation Jacquemart-André, Chaalis

The Grand Dauphin later moved from Versailles to the nearby castle of Meudon, purchased from the widow of Louvois, one of Louis XIV's principal ministers. Monseigneur then had a second chateau built by architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart. Both chateaux have long ago disappeared, destroyed by the French revolution and the Prussian army respectively. A film shows a maquette of the two chateaux:

video: reconstruction of the two chateaux of Meudon

The old chateau is on the right in the photo. There the Grand Dauphin indulged in the pleasure of hunting (regarded as training for war) and enjoyed his treasure trove of precious works of art, his garden and no doubt many gastronomic dinners. Monseigneur's possessions, including his books, were marked with the dolphin emblem (dauphin):

red Morocco binding of a book belonging to Monseigneur, with fleur de lys and dolphins ca 1670  Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris

Since the middle ages, the heir to the throne has been known as the "Dauphin", referring to the apanage granted to him by the monarch: the province of Le Dauphiné in Southern France. One of the remnants of Monseigneur's chateau at Meudon was part of a door decoration with two carved dolphins:

Jules Degoullons: Dolphin decoration probably for the chateau of Meudon ca 1702-9

This exhibition traces the Grand Dauphin's life story. His birth at Fontainebleau in 1661 was celebrated throughout the kingdom of France. It was the fruit of the peace treaty between France and Spain. His parents, Louis XIV and Marie-Thérèse of Austria, daughter of Philip IV of Spain, are portrayed by Northern painter Wallerand Vaillant:

Wallerand Vaillant: Louis XIV and Marie-Thérèse of Austria 1660 pastel and graphite
chateau of Versailles

It goes without saying that the future heir to the throne was pampered and cosseted. Many portraits were painted of him, including this one by Jean Nocret:

Jean Nocret: Le Dauphin à l'age de deux ou trois ans (the Dauphin aged 2 or 3 years) 
chateau de Versailles

Little boys and girls were dressed similarly until they reached seven years. Louis lived in a female world until his 7th birthday when he was given over to male instructors. His governess looked after him, then his children and his grandchildren:

Charles and Henri Beaubrun: Portrait of Louise de Prie,
maréchale de la Mothe-Houdancourt,
duchess of Cardonne (1624-1709) ca 1666 
chateau of Versailles

Here is another portrait of the cherished dauphin, loaned from Madrid. The child has his hand on the crown and is wearing the blue ribbon of the order of the Holy Spirit:

 

Charles and Henri Beaubrun: Portrait of the Dauphin aged two.
Madrid, Prado Museum

 A year later, the same artists, the Beaubrun cousins from the Loire valley, painted a double portrait of the dauphin with mama dressed for a fete:

Charles and Henri Beaubrun: Portrait of queen Marie-Thérèse and her son the Dauphin
in a costume "A la polonaise" Madrid, Prado Museum

A charming portrait of the Dauphin's little sister shows her clutching a lemon- symbol of a long life. Sadly she died young, along with the other four brothers and sisters of the Dauphin:

Jean Nocret: Portrait of Marie-Thérėse de France, known as "la Petite Madame" ca 1670 
Madrid, Prado Museum

Naturally, as the future monarch, Monseigneur was taught the arts of warfare. He had a toy army of lead and silver soldiers and several cannons:

Wolf Hieronymus Herold: reduced model of a cannon 1663 Bronze, wood and iron  Musée de l'Armée

The Army Museum at les Invalides in Paris has also loaned the Dauphin's beautifully crafted pistols:

Bertrand Piraube: Pair of pistols belonging to Dauphin 1687  Walnut, iron, steel and silver
Musée de l'Armée

Little Louis even had a fort so he could practise his military strategy. He was taught to fence and ride a horse and at thirteen accompanied Louis XIV to sieges in the Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678). At the age of nineteen, the Dauphin was married to Marie-Anne de Bavière, having first been presented with a portrait of her:

Francois de Troy's studio: Portrait of Marie-Anne de Bavière, dauphine de France
ca 1678-80 chateau de Versailles

The marriage united France with the powerful Electorate of Bavaria. Three sons were born of the marriage, seemingly assuring the succession. After several miscarriages, the Dauphine died of exhaustion aged only thirty. Their eldest son was known as 'le Petit Dauphin' to distinguish him from papa-the Grand Dauphin, alias Monseigneur. Mignard's painting below shows the happy family:

Pierre Mignard: The Grand Dauphin's family 1687  chateau of Versailles

The duke of Burgundy, as the eldest son was known, would have made a great king, it is said, tutored by a great French thinker Fénelon. However it was not to be- he died of measles the year after his father the Grand Dauphin died following a bout of smallpox. It was Monseigneur's grandson who inherited the throne on the death of Louis XIV. The duke of Burgundy's portrait is normally on show in the king's apartments, Versailles:

Hyacinthe Rigaud and Joseph Parrocel: Portrait of Louis de France, duke of Burgundy
ca 1702  chateau de Versailles

From Wales comes a portrait of Louis' second son Philippe, Duke of Anjou, destined for the throne of Spain. His grandmother, Marie-Thérèse was the daughter of Philip IV of Spain. Thus the Grand Dauphin was son of a king (Louis XIV of France) and father of a king (Philip V of Spain):

François de Troy: Portrait of Philippe of France, duc d'Anjou  1696 
Bodrhyddan Hall, Wales

 This is the young man who in 1700 became king Philip V of Spain, so founding the Bourbon dynasty across the Pyrenees. His descendant, the present king of Spain, Felipe VI, travelled specially to Versailles to see this exhibition. As for his father- Monseigneur, the Grand Dauphin- he was never king.

The Grand Dauphin exhibition- Son of a king, father of a king, but never a king-

 at the chateau of Versailles 

from 14th October 2025 until 15th February, 2026.

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