Galerie d'Ulysse

About

The gallery of Ulysses is a famous gallery of Fontainebleau Castle that disappeared in 1738. It was built during the reign of Francis I and was located at the location of the Louis XV wing. Its length was equivalent to twice that of the Galerie des Glaces de Versailles.

Having required almost thirty years of work, it was destroyed in 1738 by the will of Louis XV. This example reminds us that most of the artistic and architectural splendours of past centuries, especially the Renaissance, no longer exist, and that, according to André Chastel, "we know only the remains of a submerged continent". And what has happened to us is often only in a very poor state.

This is true even for Fontainebleau Castle, yet one of the best preserved in Europe.