Trianon from 3 July to 14 October 2012
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Game F O R booklet C H I LD REN THE LADIES OF TRIANON FROM 3 JULY TO 14 OCTOBER 2012 www.chateauversailles.fr The ladies of Trianon The exhibition presents forty portraits of women. Here are four who, The story of Josephine and the Grand Trianon is a sad one… because she never lived here. The widow of each in her own way, left a mark on history (or on us!). Alexandre de Beauharnais, Josephine married If you can, write the name of the room where they are. Napoleon Bonaparte in 1796. In 1804, when Napoleon had himself crowned Emperor, she became Empress. The couple talked about moving into Trianon in 1805, Princesse Palatine but the move never happened. At the end of 1809, 1652-1722 Josephine had some of her furniture transported to Trianon, believing that the refurbishment work being The Princesse Palatine is not today the most famous done here was for her. But it was not: in fact, of the ladies of Trianon (where she really lived). But Napoleon intended to accommodate here the woman she appears here for her outspokenness: she was who was to be his new wife, Marie-Louise (he still had the wife of the brother of Louis XIV, whom she secretly no heir and hoped to have one with another woman). loved. So her marriage was not a happy one – which On 15 December 1809, Napoleon told the tearful may explain why she left Memoirs full of venomous Marie-Antoinette Josephine of his decision to divorce her. comments on the other ladies of the court: in them 1755-1793 she calls Madame de Maintenon an “ugly old bag” ✎ Room…… and describes queen Marie-Thérèse as a virtuous woman but “totally stupid”. It would be difficult not to include Marie-Antoinette in this exhibition, even though she preferred Josephine Bonaparte ✎ Room…… the Petit Trianon to the Grand Trianon. She is portrayed here aged fourteen in all the freshness 1763-1814 of her adolescence, when she had just arrived in the court of Versailles: she was not yet queen of Madame de Maintenon France, but the Dauphine. “Her eyes were gentle 1638-1719 and her smile was nice,” wrote her chambermaid. But, unfortunately, she could not get used to the Depicted here with her hand over her heart as a sign of her etiquette of Versailles, and she was uncomfortable religious faith, Madame de Maintenon had an extraordinary with the title of queen. She spent a lot of money, destiny: the granddaughter of the poet Agrippa d’Aubigné, lived a life that was described as frivolous, and she was born in prison (where her father, a Protestant, became the target of rumours and caricatures was held because of his religion), and lived her childhood – at a time when France was going through in poverty. At fourteen she married the poet Paul Scarron, a serious crisis. She was in the grotto near the then old and paralysed. She very quickly gained recognition Petit Trianon when the Revolution broke out in for her intelligence and her culture. When her husband died October 1789. She was decapitated four years she was chosen by the beautiful Madame de Montespan, later, on 16 October 1793. Of the four children the mistress of Louis XIV, to be the governess of the king’s she had with Louis XVI, only her elder daughter children… But soon the king fell in love with her, made Madame Royale survived. her a Marquise, and ended up by marrying her in secret. ✎ ✎ Room…… Room…… The Grand Trianon, which houses this exhibition, was built in 1687 by the architect Unlike the Palace of Versailles, where the court etiquette and ceremonial were rigidly applied, the Grand Jules Hardouin-Mansart, on the instructions of Louis XIV. This “small palace of pink Trianon was a place of relaxation and entertainment, with a theatre auditorium and gardens filled with marble and porphyry” – as its builder described it, was a special place for the king. deliciously scented flowers. It was to house successively, over three centuries, princesses, duchesses, Trianon He invited here only the people closest to him: his family, his mistresses and his friends. queens and empresses... Take advantage of your visit to also explore the Petit Trianon! Fashion and Court dress costumes in the reign of Louis XIV The queen and the ladies in her intimate circle, like Link each of the paintings Marie-Josephe de Saxe here, had to wear what was to the description of the costume called full court dress. It consisted of a spectacular that corresponds to it ! costume in three parts: the “grand corps” (top), a sort of low-necked rigid corset with stays; the ‘”skirt” (worn over a large hooped crinoline that gave it its wide flare, like here in this painting); and the “tail”, a long train that could be lifted up. The costume was richly embroidered and cost a small fortune: up to 3,000 livres (ten times the annual income of a family of weavers). ✎ Hunting dress The « Gaulle » Here, the young Duchesse de Bourgogne is shown wearing a hunting dress typical of the end of the reign dress fashion of Louis XIV. It was extremely refined, with a lot of embroidery and lace, and a train intended to hang Marie-Antoinette remains famous down gracefully when she was on horseback for her coquetry and the almost – in those days, women rode side-saddle. extravagant luxuriance of her hairstyles and outfits. But after the birth of her first daughter, Madame Royale, she adopted a style of extraordinary simplicity The Empire fashion for a queen: the “gaulle” (muslin) dress, a white muslin shift belted at the waist, without a corset, (here represented by Madame Mère, which allowed the body free the mother of Napoleon). After the movement, and she wore this in Revolution, women adopted a very the privacy of the Petit Trianon. recognisable fashion: long straight Widow’s dress A portrait of her in this dress low-necked dresses with a belt just created a scandal in France. below the breasts – thus imitating But we can see here that this the cut of certain dresses in Antiquity. This spectacular widow’s costume was worn exclusively fashion was adopted by her The hairstyle was also typical: rolled by duchesses, in the time of Louis XIV: it consisted of a intimate circle – in this painting, in a coil and with small curls on black velvet dress lined with ermine, with a long white the sister of Louis XVI, Madame the forehead and the temples. holland linen veil. Here we see the dowager Duchesse Elisabeth. de Bourbon (before marriage called Mademoiselle de Nantes: she was the daughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan). Intimate portraits Official portraits In this exhibition we are presented with all kinds of faces and clothes, but only two types of portraits: the intimate portrait and the official portrait. You can see two examples of each on this page... Amuse yourself spotting the other examples in the Grand Trianon ! Scandal The intimate portrait The intimate portrait was intended for friends and family: it is an affectionate in Trianon ! likeness. The models – like here, the very pretty Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV – are portrayed In the sedate ambiance of the small palace, two princesses, sisters, created in bust format, meaning that we can a scandal: Mademoiselle de Blois and Mademoiselle de Nantes, both daughters see their face and bust, as if framed of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. The Princesse Palatine described them in a close-up shot. Their hands are not as “twisted” and, above all, very badly reared: the two princesses did everything always seen (often the painter charged that young ladies of their rank should not do. They smoked pipes, lit firecrackers extra to feature them in the painting!). under the window of their uncle and quarrelled all the time because they were jealous of each other. Mademoiselle de Blois married Philippe d’Orléans, Duc de Chartres, son of the Princesse Palatine. And the princess was so unhappy with her son’s choice that she slapped his face in public (the marriage turned out to be unhappy). The official portrait In contrast, the official portrait (here, that of Madame Royale, daughter of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, who Draw a ring around one of the faces below became Duchesse d’Angoulême by her marriage in 1799) that shows Mademoiselle de Blois. was intended to be seen by all. It had to reflect the power of the model it depicted. This one shows all the codes of the official portrait: the duchess is shown in full length (from head to feet), standing proudly next to a throne, under a canopy, with a diadem on her head, while a crown is placed beside her on a velvet cushion. Note also the cloak lined with ermine, the white fur reserved to kings, as well as the fleur-de-lys and the throne, symbols of royalty. This portrait was painted in 1816, in the reign of Louis XVIII, her uncle. A new revolution, in 1830, forced Madame Royale to go into exile again in Austria, where she died. dames_trianon_parcoursBAT_anglais_Mise en page 1 10/07/12 18:04 Page8 This painting – which can be seen hanging in Spot the Lords room (salle des Seigneurs) – shows Louis, the Dauphin of France, son of Louis XIV and Marie-Thérèse, with his wife Marie-Anne de the Bavière and their three children, one of whom (on the right) was the future father of Louis XV. Spot the seven details that are different differences in the two versions.