The Grand Trianon is the older one, and as the name implies it's considerably larger. It was conceived as the king's "retreat" for when he didn't feel like being with the whole court, and that is still how it's thought of today. Louis XIV himself didn't spend that much time there, and soon it became more of a social domain, under the rule of the wives, mistresses, daughters, and sisters of French kings.
Residents included Louis XIV; his son (who never became king) and his wife; his two younger sons and their wives; his well-respected illegitimate daughter, known as "Madame," who decorated much of it; Peter the Great of Russia; a deposed king of Poland (Louis XV's father-in-law); Napoleon and his second wife. In each of these pairings it was undoubtedly the wives that dominated at the Grand Trianon, since the husbands would have often been at court. They created famous salons, where intellectuals and artists would socialize and discuss matters of the day.
The Grand Trianon is definitely far simpler than the big palace. It's done in a Rococo rather than Baroque style, and the idea of it was to be more like a "country" house. If you compare these pictures to those of the palace in one of the last posts you'll see a huge difference.
This was a room where the counselors of the king would gather and well, counsel.
A bedroom
This was my favorite part of the Grand Trianon! I love the aesthetic of the "marble passageway," and it leads out to the smaller but charming gardens out in the back. While Louis XV was walking through this passageway to get to his carriage in 1757 a man stabbed him in an assassination attempt. It failed, and only slightly wounded the king.
I like old pool tables
I hate the colors in this room, I think that yellow is so ugly.
This special green marble was all over this room, it is apparently found mostly in Russia and was given as a gift by Tsar Alexander I.
Moving onto the Petit Trianon: it was made later, in the 1760's, for the official mistress of Louis XV, Madame de Pompadour (who is possibly my favorite 18th century woman - she was pretty amazing for her time). Unfortunately she died before it was done so it went to Madame du Barry, the next official mistress.
The most famous resident, however, was of course the wife of Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette. She is inextricably linked with the Petit Trianon, and everything there is set up as she had it when she left.
Marie-Antoinette came to France from Austria as a young teenager. Her French retained a strong German accent, she had many political enemies at court, and for many years she was miserable at Versailles, feeling like an outsider. Her husband gave her the Petit Trianon as a personal gift because he knew she was particularly unhappy at court, which was far more restrictive, gossipy, and insular than the Austrian Hapsburg court where she grew up.
Throughout her life the queen had a fantasy of living as a shepherdess in the countryside, and this tiny palace surrounded by woods and probably a mile or so from the palace of Versailles fit the bill exactly. She came here to escape the pressures from court, and only invited her closest friends to accompany her. She often went from here to her little hamlet (next post), and spent far more time here than at the palace.
The gardening implements
This is a part of the lowest floor, where the servants would reheat meals from the palace for the queen and her guests.
The design of the palace and its decorating are a major transition point in French art from Rococo to Neo Classical. Everything is much simpler, more streamlined and less frilly.
Her music room
A small salon outside her bedroom, and her bedroom
The successive women here had some little pavilions built in the gardens outside. This is the Pavilion of Love, because it has a statue of Cupid inside.
And a view of the Petit Trianon as you head towards her little village, which will be in the next post.
No comments:
Post a Comment