Paris, France — It was back in the beginning of the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King. The Louvre was poised to become the monarch’s official resident in a time before Versailles, then little more than a hunting lodge, rose to prominence. A royal commission was launched between 1668 and 1688 when 92 monumental tapestries were ordered to magnificently cover the floor of the Grande Galerie, a grandiose 138-foot (442-meter) corridor connecting the Louvre palace to the Tuileries palace which was demolished in 1883. The splendid result was a woven hymn to royal power and an unprecedented artistic and technical feat. But this milestone apparently would never arrive at destination. Louis XIV turned his attention to Versailles and the carpets were never installed in the Grande Galerie. Then history came on the scene with the French Revolution, sales, destruction and the dispersal of this exceptional heritage. Fortunately, during the First Empire and later the Restoration, more than thirty pieces were recovered. And In 2024, the Mobilier national located and acquired a major fragment of the 50th carpet .

And today for eight brief days, 30 of these carpets destined for the Grande Galerie du Louvre, French masterpieces, are being displayed in the Nave of the Grand Palais, making this exhibition a unique event enabling the public to see this national treasure. Today, 41 of the original 92 carpets are preserved in the collections of the Manufactures nationales, 33 of which are complete. In addition, 4 of the 13 carpets made for the Galerie d’Apollon in the Louvre are preserved. This is regarded as one of the most extraordinary decorative ensembles ever created for a royal palace, a masterpiece woven between grandeur, neglect, and revival. 

Back in the 17th century when this monumental project was commissioned, only the excellence of the prestigious manufacture de la Savonnerie (today part of the Gobelins site of the Mobilier national in Paris) would suffice. Charles Le Brun, the King’s First Painter, designed the sumptuous patterns for these 30-foot-wide carpets (nine meters), amounting to nearly 43,000 square feet (4,000 square meters) of weaving in total. The designs were then handed over to artists at la manufacture des Gobelins, under Le Brun’s direct supervision, to create the preparatory cartoons (technical drawings for tapestries) for the weavers at the Savonnerie. Each carpet is a unique masterpiece in its own right, a reflection of the French kingdom’s prestige and power. And they all offer a glimpse into an evolution towards the Baroque and a pronounced relief effect with the griffons, snake, dolphin, rooster, lion and crane seemingly alive. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. Until February 8th, 2026, Grand Palais,  Gabrielle Chanel Entrance, Avenue Winston Churchill 75008 Paris, France. https://www.grandpalais.fr/en
https://www.mobiliernational.culture.gouv.fr/