The Salon d'Hercule (or Hercules Drawing Room) was completed in 1737 and functioned as a State Room for formal dinners, balls and receptions. The painting on the ceiling is titled Apotheosis of Hercules and it is from this that the room takes its name. Painted by François Le Moyne, it is the largest ceiling painted on canvas in Europe, covering some 480 square metres. Louis XV was sufficiently enamoured with it that he bestowed the title of First Painter upon Le Moyne. Unfortunately the stress of his work, palace intrigues and the death of his wife left the painter a broken man and six months after completing work on the ceiling he committed suicide. The painting depicts Hercules’ arrival on Olympus after his labours had raised him to the status of a god and it served as a not so subtle allegorical allusion to the heroic and quasi divine aspirations of the French King.
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