The chef d'oeuvre [major work] of
seventeenth French classicism, the Palace of Versailles, an expression of Louis XIV's
absolute power, was built at great expense to the French people. It is estimated that
60% of France's revenue [in today's money this would be approximately $2 billion
dollars] was expended on this extragant venture which also cost many of the workers
their lives as they contracted malaria from the swamp land on which the palace was
constructed. Because there was not enough water for the many fountains the Sun King
wanted to run all the time, messengers ran ahead of him when he took a stroll through
the formal gardens and grounds. The alerted serants turned the fountains on and off as
the king passed them.
There were three major figures
involved in the construction of this magnificent edifice which was formed from the
highest grade of materials: Louis le Vau, the chief architect; Charles LeBrun, the
interior designer; and Andre leNotre, the landscape architect.
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