In keeping with the importance of the Audience Chamber, the ceiling painting was not mere decoration, but rather equivalent to a political statement. It shows the muscular, bearded hero Hercules, wielding his club and aiming great blows designed to mow down humanity’s vices: slander, strife and hate. It’s an allegorical portrayal of August the Strong – confirmed by, among other things, the small winged genius, his attendant spirit. It comes flying in from the left and supports the hero in his battle, bearing the coat of arms of Saxony and Poland.
An apparent contrast is offered by events on the overdoors, three of which are well preserved. One was badly damaged, but has been successfully restored, while one was lost. The paintings above the doors show famous lovers from ancient mythology rather than floral still lifes. That doesn’t really match the ceiling painting’s pathos in service of the state. But as the patron, August the Strong must have deliberately opted for this difference in content. All the works were by the court painter, Louis de Silvestre.
At the palace of Versailles, something like that would never have been possible – certainly not in a room of such political importance. In that sense, August the Strong went a step further than his role model, the French Sun King.
