Versailles: Science and Splendour

• Accompanies groundbreaking exhibition at London’s Science Museum that runs from 12 December 2024 to 21 April 2025.
• Illustrated with rare objects that illustrate the relationship of science and power in the century before the French Revolution.
• Features sixteen short chapters by experts from Britain, France and America.

A richly illustrated book that breaks new ground in exploring the relationship between science and power at the French court of Versailles – published to accompany the exhibition at London’s Science Museum.

Between the 1660s and the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789, the royal palace of Versailles – commonly associated with its architecture, gardens and courtly splendour – was also a place of serious scientific enquiry. This engaging book reveals how the French monarchy harnessed science to enhance its prestige and extend its global influence.

Versailles: Science and Splendour explores the relationship between science and power during the reigns of kings Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI, a period when the practice of what we now call ‘science’ changed significantly, and highlights how science and empire were connected at Versailles.

This book, which accompanies a temporary exhibition at the Science Museum in London, features 16 chapters by experts from Britain, France and America. Each chapter is inspired by fascinating objects, from a stuffed rhinoceros to an exquisite astronomical clock. The stories covered range from the early days of the French Royal Academy of Sciences and the engineering behind Versailles’s fountains, to the menagerie of rare animals that lived in the grounds and the first hot-air balloon flight at the palace.

Anna Ferrari is Curator of Art and Visual Culture at the Science Museum and lead curator of the exhibition Versailles: Science and Splendour (2024–25). Trained as an art historian, she has previously curated and co-curated exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal Academy of Arts and the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts.