The Château of Versailles, situated in the midst of a huge forest in Île-de-France, helped to develop a new connection to the animal world. To begin with , animals were just a subject of study or collection but at the king’s court they became a political attribute and a symbol of power; nevertheless, what sort of relationship did the Court have with domestic animals, wild animals or exotic ones ?
The exhibition is dedicated to the description of the the relation that the Court in Versailles nourished with animals, whether pet animals ( such as cats, dogs or birds in particular), exotic animals , or « wild »ones. The Château of Versailles, under the reign of Louis XIV, cannot be studied without taking in account the Royal Menagerie, that the « Sun Monarch » had had laid out next to the Grand Canal. There, one could have seen the rarest and most exotic animals - quagga, coati, cassowary and the crowned crane ( nick- named the « royal bird ») , gathered in an extraordinary collection which was the King’s constant pride.

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