Versaille: Science and Splendour
It was a pleasure to work with the talented team at the Science Museum in London to light this magnificent exhibition.
Settings have been cleverly created to evoke aspects of the Palace and Gardens of Versailles, as a backdrop to display a wonderful collection of artefacts that tell the story of the impressive advancements in science under the reigns of the three Kings Louis XIV, XV and XVI.
Images © Science Museum Group
Clearly no expense was spared in the pursuit of knowledge at the Court of Versailles. There are fabulous clocks, telescopes and microscopes, opulent displays of fountains and fireworks, and even a stuffed Rhino from Louis XV’s menagerie!
Amongst our challenges as lighting designers included managing the visual enjoyment, where bright projections sit side by side with delicate works on paper requiring very low light levels. Working successfully with the museum’s existing stock of lights and introducing a number of newly developed very narrow beam spotlights made by Evica to pinpoint the main protagonists and star pieces in a reproduction of the Testelin painting.
