While I realize that the Opéra Garnier and the Château de Versailles are very different structures with different intentions and uses, I think it is interesting to show how they both display wealth. Before going on this trip, I was fascinated by Versailles because it is probably one of the biggest examples of how far wealth, power, and status can go. I personally felt like the expansion of the garden and the house were purely for show and was an excuse for Louis XIV to reinstate his role as “God”. After visiting Versailles, I still agree with that take. While I was initially fascinated by how beautiful everything was (and still am for some parts of it), after a while I felt like it just became redundant and just felt like it was extended because why not. I had the same feeling when I entered the château, where it was absolutely breathtaking in the first few rooms (and the Hall of Mirrors), but lost its impact afterward.
As for the Opéra Garnier, while it is also a display of wealth, I thought it had more of a purpose. To be more specific, the way it uses space is so smart. Whether it’s playing with small/large open spaces, building it up so that the rich could look over Paris, or purposely building the actual stage/seats in a poor way to accommodate for the guests and their hot gossip, I thought it was a lot more engaging. Even the architecture and materials in the Opéra Garnier were used in a smart way. Obviously, both the opera and Versailles tried to find the best and hardest to obtain materials, but it was used in places where it felt more appropriate in Garnier. You can tell in certain rooms of Versailles that Louis XIV started using the same techniques or messages, which was bound to happen in such a ginormous place. For instance, after the Hall of Mirrors, you go deeper into the house and start noticing he uses mirrors on the wall in nearly every room, even though they previously weren’t there (although that might be that he got a lot of that material at once). I know that some of the rooms represent gods or famous French figures, which I thought was cool, but I felt like it lost its magic after a while. That is more my personal opinion, though. However, I still think the Hall of Mirrors is one of the most beautiful and well-thought-out rooms, and I understand why it still has such a lasting impact on people. I really like how it faces the sunset and the mirrors reflect that; it is genuinely amazing. This post is not a diss to Versailles, by the way, since it is absolutely gorgeous and it’s incredible that it even exists. The symbolism behind every single statue, fountain, piece of artwork, and room is absolutely insane to think about, seeing just how much everything there it. However, when you are standing there for 7 hours, it kind of changes your perspective. I just think that no matter how much effort or thought you put into a building, if it is large enough it starts to feel isolating. It also made me realize how Versailles’ layout means that it goes from extremely packed in certain areas to a barren wasteland in others, and that freaks me out. The Opéra Garnier, however, seems more like a shared space for everyone, with certain areas of privacy that do not feel like a hell maze.
In conclusion: I’m biased.
Hey Rachel, I really liked your opinion on how after a while Versailles kinda lost it’s magic after a while. I was facetiming my family a few days ago and they said they appreciated the pictures I sent them, it’s just that they were too perfect and looked like they could be taken straight out of a textbook, so seeing it in real life versus seeing it in pictures was probably so different. I think that’s the problem Versailles has when compared to Garnier, it’s trying too hard to be picture perfect. Garnier, although a beautiful building with great small details, has a purpose besides sit there and be beautiful, it’s there for the DRAMA, and that’s where I think that benefits because so many people aren’t maintaining it 24/7, 365, it allows for small imperfections which made the untouched stuff more beautiful by comparison.
I also agree about the chateau rooms of Versailles losing their impact after a while, and I’ve noticed it happening in other very fancy (18th century) spaces too, like the Louvre. Today when I was at the Louvre, I walked past a lot of the reconstructed rooms of French monarchs and their wives, and they did not have as much of an impact as you would expect.