The State Music Room has always been one of the most celebrated interiors of Chatsworth. The highlight is the famous “violin door,” painted in trompe-l'oeil by Jan van der Vaart to appear as if a violin hangs on a hook.
The space was intended for use as a Presence Chamber, where petitioners would meet with the King.
Louis Laguerre’s ceiling painting depicts Phaethon Begging Apollo to Drive the Sun Chariot. Apollo, reluctantly handing the reins to his impetuous son, represents a warning against reckless ambition.
For a 17th-century audience, the message was clear: courtiers must not overstep by petitioning the monarch beyond reason, as reckless ambition could imperil the order of both heavens and earth.
Around the ceiling coves are painted the signs of the Zodiac, affirming cosmic order. The combination of celestial imagery and music reflected contemporary ideas about the “harmony of the spheres.” The room’s function for music and entertainment was thus given a deeper intellectual resonance.
Learn more about the State Music Room here.
Images taken by Sarah Rawlinson at HeritagePhotographs.com
