View of the exterior façade of the Thetys Grotto of Versailles

The origin of grottoes with water features goes back to the Renaissance. The construction of a raised water tank in 1664 was designed for this type of entertainment under the vaults of the building. The palace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye also possessed a grotto with a water attraction and the court had often gone their for amusement. In the grotto of Versailles, Charles Perrault took his inspiration from Ovid’s Metamorphoses to stage the scene in which Apollo, after his ride across the sky, takes his rest in the grotto of the nymph Thetys. The engravings by Le Pautre give a faithful image of the façade and the interior.