My favorite painting of the day

Is John Vanderlyn's awesomely scaled panoramic view of Versailles, from 1818-19. The painting--all 165 feet of it--was originally installed in a building designed for it in lower Manhattan. Visitors entered the Rotunda and vicariously experienced the palace and gardens; the canvas circled around them to dramatic effect. Vanderlyn painted not only contemporary European notables (Czar Alexander I, the king of Prussia) among the figures in the scene, but also included himself.

The Met has installed the painting in a fabulously-lit circular space tucked away in the American Wing, if you'd like a visit. In the meantime, a video of museum director Tom Cambell talking to the press in front of Versailles is here, on Culture Grrl's blog.