Science Museum has Brought Versailles to London – Versailles: Science and Splendour Exhibition
Open until the 21st April, 2025, Science Museum London is hosting an includible exhibition about how the development of scientific knowledge was used to extend influence and prestige of France in the world during the 17th and 18th centuries.
@urbanadventurerldn 𝓥𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓪𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓼: 𝓢𝓬𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓢𝓹𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓸𝓾𝓻 – exhibition at @sciencemuseumlondon 🌞 [MORE INFO IN BIO] The exhibition offers a unique opportunity for visitors to discover hundreds of original items, paintings, scientific objects and instruments, over 40 of which are borrowed from the collections of Versailles #versailles #sciencemuseum #france🇫🇷 #frenchhistory #scienceexperiments #historytok #exhibition #londontiktok #CapCut
Artworks and Scientific Objects Straight from the Collections of Versailles
Photo: Urban Adventurer
‘Versailles: Science and Splendour’ offers a unique opportunity to discover hundreds of original items, paintings, scientific objects and instruments, over 40 of which are borrowed from the collections of Versailles.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Many artefacts, such as Louis XV’s rhinoceros, have never been exhibited in the United Kingdom before.
The World Most Famous Watch and a Map of the Moon by Cassini
Visitors have a rare opportunity to admire the world most famous watch designed for Marie Antoinette, and an incredibly detailed map of the Moon created by Jean-Dominique Cassini.
Who was Cassini
Image Source: sciencemuseum.org.uk
Jean-Dominique Cassini was an Italian born French astronomer. Cassini made a number of remarkable scientific discoveries, including being the first to discover and observe four of Saturn’s moons, he discovered the ‘Cassini Division’ (he discovered that Saturn’s ring was not just a giant ring, but was composed of multiple smaller rings with gaps between them), and he shared the credit with Robert Hooke for the discovery of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot in 1665.
Hearing Cassini’s discoveries, Louis XVI invited him to Paris in 1699 to join the newly formed Académie des Sciences.
In 1997, a sophisticated robotic spacecraft was sent to study Saturn, its ring and Moons. This was Cassini – Huygens, named after Jean-Dominique Cassini and Christiaan Huygens, a Dutch astronomer, mathematician, engineer and inventor.
The World’s Most Famous Watch
Photo: Urban Adventurer
In 1783 a clockmaker, Abraham-Louis Breguet was given an unlimited budget to design and craft an exceptional watch for Queen Marie Antionette. Although, no records confirm, it may have been commissioned by a Swedish soldier-diplomat and close friend to the Queen, Axel von Fersen.
The timepiece was crafted from the finest materials, such as gold and sapphires. The watch was being worked on over 40(!) years, it has 823 parts, and beyond basic functions, Breguet added a range of additional features, including self-winding mechanism, calendar for date, day and month (corrected to account of leap years), and bimetallic thermometer.
Unfortunately, the crafting was interrupted by the French Revolution and the watch was not completed until the 1820s, long after Marie Antionette’s death in 1793.
Science as a Tool of Political Power and Prestige
Photo: Urban Adventurer
The exhibition dives deep into the chronicle of 120 years of scientific evolution and showcases scientific marvels that have had significant influence over the modern world.
The exhibition reveals how Versailles – that had already been the beacon of scientific experimentation – became the centre of scientific research during in the 17th and 18th century.
Science in that time, however, was not just about mere curiosity, but a tool of political power and prestige.
A Voyage Around the Globe
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Visitors will learn about the voyage of discovery around the globe, led by Jean-François de Galaup, Count of La Pérouse.
La Pérouse had caught Louis XVI’s attention as a naval officer participated in the action against England in the American War of Independence.
In 1785 Louis XVI commissioned him to lead the voyage of scientific discovery around the world.
Louis XVI was fascinated by the discoveries of Captain James Cook so much that he even had a French translation of ‘A Voyage Towards the South Pole, and Round the World’ originally by James Cook, Tobias Furneaux, and Johann Reinhold Forster. This book is on display at the exhibition.
Two ships set sail for the extraordinary adventure in 1785, each with 110 crew members, sailors and scientists, 350 barrels of food and 1,000 tons of equipment.
They were expected to return to France in the Summer of 1789, however, the King received no information about the ships’ whereabouts after they left Botany Bay in Australia in March 1788.
Louis XVI send a rescue mission, however, no avail.
It was not until 1826 when the shipwrecks discovered in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, near the Solomon Islands.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
‘Versailles: Science and Splendour’ exhibition features a ‘Map of the Pacific’ by Jean-Nicolas Buache de La Neuville (1785). The map was used to follow the journey and discoveries of La Pérouse while the court received updates. The map is also crisscrossed with lines showing previous European expeditions, including Captain Cook’s thee voyages.
Pioneer in Reducing Infant Mortality
Image Source: National Institutes of Health
Visitors will also meet Madame du Coudray, one of the first midwifes to teach the mechanics of giving birth using a teaching mannequin of a womb and a baby.
Madame du Coudray was hired by King Louis XV to travel across France and train midwifes to boost declining population and give capable soldiers to the country.
Madame du Coudray became the national midwife in 1759 and earned 8,000 lives a year.
Practical Info
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Address
Science Museum London | Exhibition Rd, South Kensington, London SW7 2DD
(Special Exhibition Gallery 2, Level 2)
Opening Times
Until 21 April 2025
Open daily: 10am – 5:40pm
Tickets
Tickets available on Science Museum London’s official website
Adult ticket is £12 WITH donation | £10.80 WITHOUT donation
Recommended Age
12+
Ready for your next adventure? Japan House London has recently opened their new exhibition: ‘The Craft of Carpentry: Drawing Life from Japan’s Forests’. The exhibition guides visitors through thousands of years of woodworking traditions behind teahouses, temples, shrines and the art of Japanese wood joinery famous for not using a single nail.