LE BASSIN D’APOLLON
1670–1703
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-533-110
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Adam Perelle’s *Le Bassin d’Apollon* captures the dramatic centerpiece of the gardens at Versailles during the height of Louis XIV’s reign. Created between 1670 and 1703, this print depicts the Apollo Fountain, where the sun god rises from the water in his chariot—a powerful symbol of the Sun King himself. Perelle, a respected French draftsman and engraver, specialized in views of royal estates, helping to spread the fame of these lavish landscapes across Europe. As a print rather than a painting, the work made the splendor of Versailles accessible to a wider audience. Visitors who could not travel to the palace could still admire its carefully orchestrated vistas and fountains through such detailed engravings. The medium also allowed Perelle to emphasize the crisp geometry of the gardens and the dynamic movement of water, key features of French formal garden design. Today the print resides in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where it continues to illustrate the intersection of art, politics, and landscape architecture in seventeenth-century France.