Sun King's elaborate, vast carpets go on display for the first time ever inside Paris' Grand Palais

Описание: (5 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paris, France - 1 February 2026
1. Wide interior of Grand Palais ceiling, tilt down to carpets commissioned by French King Louis XIV for the Grande Galerie, the Louvre’s longest room

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paris, France - 31 January 2026
2. Unrolling of the Apollo carpet by (left to right) co-Curators Emmanuelle Federspiel, Wolf Burchard and Antonin Macé de Lépinay
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Wolf Burchard, Exhibition co-Curator, Curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts: ++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON SHOT 1 AND IS OVERLAID BY SHOTS 2 & 4++
"This is a historic event. This has never been done before. We rolled down 32 of the carpets that were made for Louis the 14th, 350 years ago. This was a series of 92 carpets that were made for the Grande Galerie at the Louvre, and they were never rolled out in their entirety because Louis XIV lost interest in the Louvre and moved to Versailles.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paris, France - 1 February 2026
4. Wide of 32 carpets taking the entire width of the nave of the Grand Palais
5. Close of carpet

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paris, France - 1 February 2026
6. Various Apollo carpet in front of large image of gallery as it would have been decorated at the time of Louis XIV

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paris, France - 31 January 2026
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Wolf Burchard, Exhibition co-Curator, Curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts: ++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON SHOT 5 AND IS OVERLAID BY SHOT 6++
“The idea was that the ambassador of the port of France would walk across that gallery, which is half a kilometre long, and by the time you reach the throne, you would really be in awe of the wealth and the power of the King of France, who would have had these carpets combined with extraordinary silver furniture and a ceiling painted by the great French artist Nicolas Poussin.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paris, France - 1 February 2026
8. Various of carpets commissioned by King Louis XIV for the Louvre Grande Galerie designed by Charles Le Brun

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paris, France - 31 January 2026
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Wolf Burchard, Exhibition co-Curator, Curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts: ++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT++
“What you see when you look at the gallery is just, how much yellow there is and all that is supposed to evoke, gold, so sort of gilt wood frames. And the idea was really that, this was supposed to be a sort of golden path to the throne of the king of France.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paris, France - 31 January 2026
10. Buchard looking at “Love” carpet
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Wolf Burchard, Exhibition co-Curator, Curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts: ++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT AND IS OVERLAID BY SHOT 12++
“All of the carpets have a slightly different story they tell. One is on peace, love, the virtues of the king. And this one on the subject of love, is particularly well preserved. It was in the office of the President of France at (French presidential palace) the Elysee, for several decades. And it's absolutely beautiful and really sophisticated design, with a wonderful white background that almost looks like porcelain with all kinds of ribbons. So it's a really it's a really wonderful one.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paris, France - 1 February 2026
12. Various of carpets commissioned by King Louis XIV for the Louvre Grande Galerie designed by Charles Le Brun
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