Every time a new king took the French throne, the Château de Versailles was remodeled, the new monarch’s power flaunted in the details that had been altered and replaced to create another layer. Gazing thoughtfully at the vestiges of this incomparable splendor, we get images of the different reigns. While we delight in the seemingly unimaginable decorativeness, the accumulation of the latest techniques of its age, we also realize the human exploitation that resulted in such opulence. Where, we wonder, did this elegance come from? Morita’s photography seeks to capture his own themes of “desire” and “primal instinct.” There is nowhere else more suited to this objective than the Château de Versailles. The stone staircase is worn down, as though holding the memory of all the people who climbed it.

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© Yasumichi Morita/Château de Versailles