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The Arrival of the Papal Nuncio
Not on view
A long procession, probably that of the pope’s representative, Giovanni Giacomo Cavallerini, has arrived at Versailles. Recognizable by his cassock, the diplomat rides in a carriage emblazoned with the king’s double L monogram opposite the Introducer of Ambassadors. The painter shows the palace guards (including the Cent-Suisses, dressed in their ceremonial uniform) awaiting Cavallerini’s arrival for his public audience on November 18, 1692. Curious courtiers watch from above, and Madame de Maintenon, whom Louis XIV had secretly married in 1683, sits on her balcony at far left, observing the spectacle unfolding in the Royal Court below.
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