Israël Silvestre the younger

The performance portrayed here took place on the third of seven days of fêtes that celebrated King Louis XIV’s rehabilitation of his hunting lodge, Versailles. This scene shows several dancers on a stage in the far distance, representing the island domicile of the sorceress Alcine. Israël Silvestre creates a dramatic perspectival recession into the background with angled tapestries lining the sides of the pond. Silvestre, in separating the viewer from the action with a border of audience members in the foreground, makes clear that this world is the King’s alone. We see the back of the King’s head under the central canopy as he views the expanse of the scene from a privileged - one might even say omnipotent - viewpoint.