Apollo and the Muses

Antonio Verrio decorated the King's Staircase for William III as a grand entrance to his new royal apartments at Hampton Court. The room is a typically Baroque piece of trompe l'oeil art, with the staircase transformed into an open courtyard, surrounded by two ranks of columns and pillars, and open to the sky. Within this illusionistic stage, Verrio has interpreted The Caesars, a satirical story composed by the 4th century Roman emperor and author, Julian 'the Apostate'. This colourful tale pokes fun at the various flaws and failures of Roman emperors and introduces the heroic figure of Alexander the Great as a rival candidate to be considered for a place among the gods of Olympus.

Verrio's intended message is that William III, masquerading here as Alexander and associated with the heroic virtue of Herakles, has a better claim to immortality as a great ruler than the Stuart dynasty that he supplanted during the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688. The benefits of WIlliam's rule are detailed here on the north wall. Apollo, in his role as God of Music, sits above the Muses, the inspirational goddesses of the arts. They are joined by Pan, God of Nature, Demeter, Goddess of Agriculture, Khloris, Goddess of Flowers, and Pomona, Goddess of Fruit, amidst a display of gold plate, and floral and harvested abundance.

The triumphalist and celebratory messages of the King's Staircase were reinforced by the decorative design and placement of artworks throughout WIllliam III's new King's Apartments. Godfrey Kneller's portrait of William III on horseback dominated the King's Presence Chamber and introduced the King as the true British heir of Imperial Augustan Rome. Elsewhere, triumphal tapestries inside the palace and painted roundels outside told the story of Hercules (the Latin name for Herakles), whilst Caius Cibber's pediment for the main facade on the east front represented Hercules, with Britannia, trampling on the Roman Catholic church and her associated vices of Superstition, Tyranny and Envy.