What Was The Hall Of Mirrors And Why Was It So Influential?

Mirrors are an important, multipurpose piece of glass hardware that is indispensable in bathrooms, to the point that a washroom can often feel incomplete without at least one mirror to look into during a morning routine.

Besides this primary function, mirrors are often an essential part of interior design because of the way they shape how natural light moves around the room and affect the perception of space.

A common trick used to make a room look bigger, for example, is to place a mirror parallel to the window to reflect daylight further into the room. This, in combination with light, neutral shades, can create the illusion of a much larger space.

This bathroom staple was influenced by one of the most ornate, opulent and luxurious rooms in the world when it was constructed, but it also managed to set off the first domino that would cascade to the point that a mirror was available in every house.

The Hall Of Mirrors

Before it was a fascinating optical illusion, the Hall of Mirrors was the centrepiece of the Palace of Versailles, one of the most audacious and expensive homes ever constructed and designed to make a significant statement about its owner.

Developed by King Louis XIV, the Sun King wanted his new permanent home to be a statement of his absolute power, and the consequence of this was the creation of several rooms and housing features believed to be impossible at the time.

During an era where a single mirror was worth an entire field of wheat, the 17 mirrors facing 17 giant windows were not only an indulgence but a huge statement of intent.

They helped to make the hall look gigantic, reflecting the beautiful palace gardens and chateau exterior during the day and enhanced the effects of the 3000 candles which kept it illuminated at night.

Those mirrors became the backdrop of countless major events not only in French but also in European history, such as the 1685 Siamese Embassy, and the establishment of the Second German Empire in 1871, which led to the astonishing painting of the mirrors reflecting the crowd of black-garbed Prussian military officers.

However, whilst much of its influence is aesthetic and countless buildings have taken design notes from the Hall of Mirrors, it also may have helped make mirrors cheaper, albeit in a somewhat roundabout way.

Shattering A Glass Monopoly

Whilst the exact date remains uncertain, the modern history of mirror production begins in Venice, which was also the home of a clear glass monopoly.

Venetian glassmakers found a method of creating mirrors using a tin-mercury amalgam material that was glazed onto the back of mirror glass. It created a remarkably even and long-lasting reflective surface that did not need the same polishing that silver mirrors at the time did.

This, combined with a remarkably clear Venetian glass meant that nowhere else in the world could make mirrors like Venice did, and they thus became a showpiece and a relatively subtle display of wealth.

These secrets were closely guarded and the penalties for sharing them with outsiders were exceptionally severe.

However, some glassmakers did eventually defect to Genoa, revealing their secrets in France and eventually leading to a French-based manufacturer, the Manufacture Royale de Glaces de Miroirs (later Saint-Gobain).

Their first order was for the Palace of Versailles and whilst the goal was in no way to make mirrors cheap enough for everyone to buy, breaking the Venice monopoly and enabling the application of the same techniques with cheaper glass from Germany and Bohemia brought prices down significantly.

From Opulent To Ordinary

Eventually, much like the Venetian monopoly on mirrors, the absolute power of the French Monarchy would also be destroyed, in part due to the circumstances that brought about the Hall of Mirrors.

By the end of the 16th century, the French government were funding two rival mirror manufacturers, Compagnie du Noyer and Compagnie Thevart, and as the economy faltered, the two were merged into the monopolistic Compagnie Plastier.

Somewhat ironically, the State-funded monopoly on mirror production would ultimately be one of the many seeds sown that contributed to the French Revolution, as the ancient regime would ultimately collapse due to a wide range of internal crises. 

Whilst the French Republic kept Saint-Gobain as a state-owned enterprise up until 1830, by this point new manufacturers and techniques allowed for mirrors to be made at a substantially lower cost, which meant that most people could have a mirror in their home for the first time ever.