The Diana Drawing Room, Versailles
“Diana Presiding Over Hunting And Navigation”
Painted on the ceiling by Blanchard
(the same motif was painted by Audran and Lafosse in the coves)
The Diana Drawing Room
As with the Venus Drawing Room, the Diana Drawing Room was an upper vesibule to the Ambassadors’ Staircase. It has the same beautiful marble once covering that staircase. The full length statue by Warin of Louis XIV dressed as a Roman Emperor and the bust of the same King by Bernini celebrate the ruler just as Lebrun intended for the Grand Escalier. A painting of Diana saving Iphigenia by Charles de Lafosse hangs above the fireplace (decorated with a bas-relief of the Flight into Egypt by Sarrazin). A painting by Blanchard of Diana watching over a sleeping Endymion hangs on the opposite wall.
The Diana Drawing Room was used for billiards (Louis XIV excelled at the game). A large table, covered by a crimson velvet carpet when not in use, was set up in the middle of the room.
