For almost 200 years, life at Versailles was something of a sexual free for all, according to National Gallery of Australia director Gerard Vaughan.
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A parade of mistresses came and went, serving at the pleasure of the king, so to speak. A few of them even went on to earn the title maîtresse-en-titre, or official mistress, which gave them standing in court, and great power.
Mr Vaughan is talking at Muse bookshop on Sunday on Love, Sex and Death at Versailles, an hour of salacious gossip about the saucy life of the French Court.
"It's no different to today, there's still an interest in the sexual behaviours of celebrities," he said.
"If you were a courtier at Versailles, you'd be deeply interested in the amorous relations of the king because the king was the absolute monarch."
The talk is one of many extra events on the blockbuster Versailles: Treasures from the Palace exhibition which is running at the NGA until April 17.
Mr Vaughan said it was the NGA's aim to introduce people to not only the treasures of Versailles but to the people of the palace as well.
"It's not just about the objects of Versailles, the beautiful tapestries, the paintings, the exquisite objects but we want visitors to gain a sense of how people lived at Versailles."
By all accounts, they were living quite the high life.
"I was counting up all the women of the grandfather of Louis XIV, Henry IV, he had more than 30 women with whom he had relationships in some way," said Mr Vaughan.
"The whole idea of the marriage politics and sexual politics of Versailles are very interesting and there's much to be learned about the French court."
There are two paintings in the exhibition which take pride of place in relation to this talk. The portraits of Madame de Pompadour and Madame du Barry, the two last official mistresses of Louis XV.
"Madame de Pompadour was a mistress, then friend and finally political adviser to the king," Mr Vaughan said.
"She was a style setter and a great patron of the arts, getting the best painters, the best architects, the best designers, she established the important Hermitage garden."
Madame du Barry wasn't as well remembered. A devastatingly pretty young woman who was mistress to a dying king, once Louis died in 1774 she was packed off to a convent and eventually executed during the French Revolution.
Love, Sex and Death at Versailles, a talk by NGA director Gerard Vaughan. Muse bookshop, EAST Hotel, Cnr Canberra Ave and Giles St, Kingston. Sunday, February 12, 3-4pm, limited tickets available at the door.
