View toward the Fountain of Apollo at the head of the Grand CanalIts prominent place--the focal point of the East-West axis--also serves as a transition between the gardens nearer the estate and the head of the Grand Canal. This canal was more than two kilometers and it and the more than 1400 fountains were fed with water diverted from the Eure by means of an aqueduct. Louis XIV kept a flotilla of gondolas, sent to him from the Republic of Venice, in the Grand Canal. See etching of this area by Adam Perelle, 1680s, with "battleships" in the canal. |
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Tuby, a French sculptor born in Rome, designed this impressive sculpture which continues the grandiose association of Louis XIV with the sun-god Apollo. It depicts the sun god driving his chariot across the sky. |
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