On 6 February 1661, the first floor of the ‘Petite Galerie’ built under Henry IV was destroyed by fire. His grandson, Louis XIV, immediately undertook to rebuild an even more beautiful gallery. He entrusted the work to his architect Louis Le Vau. The 23-year-old king chose the sun as his emblem and decided to name the new gallery after Apollo, the Greek god of light and the arts. The king’s first painter, Charles Le Brun, was commissioned to design the decor. He surrounded himself with the best artists of the time. The Gallery of Apollo was even used as a model for the famous Hall of Mirrors at the Château de Versailles years later.