This splendid hall, which to-day serves as the
entrance to the _grand appartements_, owed its design to Robert de
Cotte. As in the time of Louis XIV and Mansard, marble was chosen as
the main decorative medium. All the sculptural ornaments are in bronze
and marble. The bases of the pilasters are of gilded bronze. Carvings
in wood and stucco were contributed by a Flemish artist named
Verberckt, to whom Louis XV assigned most of the sculptural work done
at the chateau during his reign. It was he that modeled the two doors
placed on either side the bronze and marble chimney-piece, and the
sculptures of the cornice. The painting on the ceiling--the Apotheosis
of Hercules--was first seen by His Majesty as he passed through the
room on his way to mass on a day in September, 1736. He examined it
with much attention (some one has taken the trouble to record), and
demonstrated his satisfaction by forthwith naming Sire Le Moine, the
creator of the work, his chief painter. And thereon hangs a tragic
tale. So great was Le Moine's pride in the honor thus done him that he
determined to bring his work to still higher perfection. He resolved
to finish each detail with the same exactitude as though he were
painting a canvas that was to be observed at close range. But the more
he applied his brush to bring out intricate effects, the less the
design pleased him. In a sudden revulsion for the completed work, he
effaced it and began the entire painting anew.
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