ABSTRACT
The lavish festivals given at Versailles by Louis XIV in the spring and summer of 1664, 1668 and 1674 were an ideal opportunity not only to demonstrate his magnificence, but also to display the beauty of the gardens designed by Andre Le Notre. Bosquets were converted into ballrooms, concert halls or open-air theatres that attempted to blend in with the shrubbery, or whose trompe-l'œil sets led to the confusion between artifice and reality. At night, both the palace and the gardens were illuminated and splendid fireworks were set off over the grand canal and other reflecting pools. The natural scenery around the theatres de verdure erected by Vigarani in the palace gardens was not only identical to the one constructed on stage by the decor, it also appeared to extend and even merge with it. The royal gardens turned out to be just as artificial as the ones that were painted on the stage sets devised by Vigarani or Torelli.
