Description
Object description
image: A view of the interior of the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, with the heads of state sitting and standing before a
long table.
Front Row: Dr Johannes Bell (Germany) signing with Herr Hermann Muller leaning over him
Middle row (seated, left to right): General Tasker H Bliss, Col E M House, Mr Henry White, Mr Robert Lansing, President Woodrow Wilson
(United States); M Georges Clemenceau (France); Mr D Lloyd George, Mr A Bonar Law, Mr Arthur J Balfour, Viscount Milner, Mr G N Barnes
(Great Britain); The Marquis Saionzi (Japan)
Back row (left to right): M Eleutherios Venizelos (Greece); Dr Affonso Costa (Portugal); Lord Riddell (British Press); Sir George E Foster
(Canada); M Nikola Pachitch (Serbia); M Stephen Pichon (France); Col Sir Maurice Hankey, Mr Edwin S Montagu (Great Britain); the Maharajah
of Bikaner, Major-General Sir Ganga Singh, (India); Signor Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (Italy); M Paul Hymans (Belgium); General Louis Botha (South Africa); Mr W M Hughes
(Australia).
Label
The Paris Peace Conference in 1919 allowed the victorious Allied nations to resolve the end of the First World War, to
apportion blame and financial responsibility and to demand reparations from Germany. They also addressed wider issues such as forming the
League of Nations and the creation of new nation states. Complex negotiations tried to match public desire for reparations to Germany's
willingness and ability to pay. In monetary terms, this was the most important British painting commission of the war (£3000 compared to
the £300 that 'Gassed' had cost) and was to record the roles of the politicians, diplomats and military.
This is the moment of resolution when the leading allied politicians are able to demonstrate their determination and unity as the treaty is
signed, as well their political power. The setting is the dazzling Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, built by Louis XIV, at vast expense as a
demonstration of his political power. Above their heads reads the legend 'Le Roy Gouverne par lui même' [The King governs alone], a
pointed reference to the conference's endless squabbling, as Germany claimed not to be able to meet the penalties imposed and the allies
were unable to agree a compromise.
In Orpen's vision, it is the extravagance of the architecture that sets the scene, reducing the politicians to a footnote. Their
supposedly ordered world is distorted and broken by the mirrors behind them. In them we see artist's reflection twice and also, more
significantly, the absence of any other audience. Nobody is watching. This is shallow politics, mere posturing and an indication that the
political forces and personal vanities that shaped the palace are still present.
Label
This is the moment of resolution for the Peace Conference when the leading allied politicians are able to demonstrate
their determination and unity as the treaty is signed, as well their political power. The setting is the dazzling Hall of Mirrors at
Versailles, built by Louis XIV, at vast expense as a demonstration of his political power. Above their heads reads the legend 'Le Roy
Gouverne par lui même' [The King governs alone], a pointed reference to the conference's endless squabbling, as Germany claimed not to be
able to meet the penalties imposed and the allies were unable to agree a compromise. In William Orpen's vision, it is the extravagance of
the architecture that sets the scene, reducing the politicians to a footnote. Their supposedly ordered world is distorted and broken by
the mirrors behind them.
History note
Imperial War Museum commission
