André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri (1819-1889)

PALAIS DE VERSAILLES, SALON DE L'OEIL DE BOEUF, 1855. Albumen print, pasted down to period album page, image size 360 x 260mm, page size 640 x 485mm.

Prior to Queen Victoria's vist to Versailles in 1855, Disdéri was charged with documenting the rooms of the palace, which had been decorated specifically for the occasion. Queen Victoria, who was made the trip to France to attend the Universal Exhibition, toured Versailles on 20 August, followed by an ostentatious reception on 25 August. Disdéri's series of seven images, which were bound as an album in 1857, are the only record of the palace's interiors from this time.