In 1668 Louis XIV commissioned ninety-two enormous carpets from the Savonnerie manufactory to cover the 480-yard span of the Louvre’s Grande Galerie. The Savonnerie carpets woven for the Grande Galerie were never installed in the space for which they were intended, although Louis XIV’s successors, Louis XV and Louis XVI, used some of them on special occasions, such as christenings and ambassadorial visits.
In February 2026, the Mobilier national (the French government art collection) rolled out thirty-two carpets at the Grand Palais in Paris. Never in their 350-year history have so many been seen together. This video, taken during the one-week exhibition, illustrates how Louis XIV’s carpets were meant to be placed side-by-side. Organized by the Mobilier national, the unrolling shed new light on these Baroque masterpieces.
Since the 1950s, curators from the Mobilier national, the Musée du Louvre, and The Met have worked together to disentangle the complicated history of the Grande Galerie carpets. During the Revolution, many were stripped of their royal emblems or sold, some eventually finding new homes with prominent American collectors such as J. P. Morgan and Alva Vanderbilt. A King’s Carpet: Louis XIV and the Savonnerie situates The Met’s three carpets made as part of this ambitious scheme, exploring the tumultuous history of these Baroque masterpieces from their conception and the harsh realities of their production to their dispersal after the French Revolution.
