Preserved at the National Archives, more precisely at the Hôtel de Soubise, within the vast repositories designed under Napoleon III, these remarkable volumes transported the studio into another era, inspiring the creative team to reproduce or reinterpret forms and motifs, whether abstract or figurative.

The Albums de Marly themselves are objects of extraordinary luxury. Bound in red leather bearing the arms of Louis XIV, they were undoubtedly conceived and assembled for the king’s personal use. While the identity of the artists who created them remains unknown, they can only have belonged to the circle of the Surintendance des Bâtiments du Roi, the administration responsible for the royal residences.

Particular attention should be paid to the exceptional vibrancy of the colors. The drawings, executed in watercolor with India ink, retain a remarkable freshness, largely because the albums have been rarely consulted since the reign of Louis XIV. In addition, certain pages were protected with a light varnish, giving several of the plates a subtle, luminous sheen.

The estate lies north of Versailles, where Louis XIV began building, in 1679, a kind of satellite residence to the grand Palace of Versailles. During the later years of his reign, from the 1680s onward, the king gradually distanced himself from Versailles and increasingly chose to reside at Marly.

The gardens of Louis XIV were initially shaped largely by André Le Nôtre. At Marly, however, the overall design was primarily the work of the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart, with Le Nôtre contributing to certain groves and finer details.

Louis XIV devoted exceptional care to his gardens, which he conceived as open-air museums of sculpture. He spent part of each day tending to them and walked through them daily. These albums are of great interest not only to historians of gardens, but also to scholars of French sculpture, as they document a moment when French sculpture rose to become the leading school in Europe.

These plans and bird's-eye views show the state of the château, park and groves of Marly, the king's private residence, where he could isolate himself from the court, first in 1693–1713 and then in October 1714, after the major renovation of Marly shortly before the death of Louis XIV.

‘Rather than being a working tool for architects, these meticulous and picturesque representations were undoubtedly intended for the enjoyment of the owner of the property.’

The various plans were arranged together to recreate a large garden where the geometry and symmetry of the spaces are revealed.