Madame De Maintenon Part III in the Corridors of Power

madame de maintenon part III In the Corridors of Power

madame de maintenon in the corridors of power

16 april - 21 july 2019

Versailles, 15 April 2019 Press release

To mark the tricentenary of the death of Madame de Maintenon (1635-1719), the Palace of Versailles is highlighting the exceptional destiny of this woman, who was born in a prison but went on to become the wife of the world’s most powerful king. Presented in the private apartment that Madame de Maintenon occupied on the first floor of the Palace, close to the King’s own apartments, the exhibition traces the life of this important court figure via around sixty works and documents. Thanks to the evocative design of the exhibition, visitors can also rediscover the iconic 17th-century décor, no examples of which remain in modern-day Versailles. This space is being unveiled as part of The Remarkable Women of Versailles and alongside both the reopening of the Queen’s State Apartment and The taste of Marie Leszczyńska exhibition.

Following a difficult, impoverished childhood, Françoise of the Palace, very close to the King’s apartments. The d’Aubigné married, at the age of 16, the famous poet space underwent a whole host of changes during the time Scarron, who introduced her to prestigious Parisian of those occupants who followed Madame de Maintenon, circles. After being widowed, she was entrusted with the in particular following the major transformation of the role of raising the illegitimate children of King Louis Palace into a national monument dedicated “to all the XIV and Madame de Montespan. After the first children glories of France” by King Louis-Philippe in the 19th were legitimised in 1673, Françoise d’Aubigné moved to century. For this exhibition, unique paintings, drawings, the court, where she caught the King’s attention. Having engravings, books, medals and documents are on show in obtained the title Madame de Maintenon, she went on the various rooms of the apartments, retracing Madame to marry King Louis XIV following the disgrace of his de Maintenon’s destiny. former favourite and the death of Queen Maria Theresa. The staging of this exhibition, complete with restored wall In 1686, as a result of having been a governess, she hangings, is particularly evocative and manages to recreate founded the Saint-Louis Royal School in Saint-Cyr for the lively atmosphere of this suite of rooms, discreet yet daughters of the impoverished nobility of France, which sophisticated, just like their occupant. delivered an exceptionally modern teaching programme. The wall hangings were woven by Tassinari & Chatel Whether decried or admired, Madame de Maintenon – France’s oldest silk factory, founded in Lyon by King continues to fascinate to this day. Louis XIV – based on a description of the original hangings included in the 1708 inventory of the Royal Evocative scenography brings the Furniture Depository. In those days, the walls of Madame apartment back to life de Maintenon’s apartments were sumptuously decorated with silk hangings, arranged in alternating strips The exhibition is an opportunity to open Madame throughout most of the rooms. de Maintenon’s apartment to the public and recreate the atmosphere that would have prevailed during her This iconic 17th-century style of décor is no longer residency there, from 1680 to 1715. found in today’s Versailles, so the exhibition is a unique opportunity for visitors to admire how the interior of a Relatively modest compared to royal and princely courtier's quarters would have looked during the French apartments, the quarters are located in a prized and “Grand Siècle”. exceptional position, on the first floor of the main wing

Exhibition curation Alexandre Maral, General Curator of Heritage and Director of the Palace of Versailles Research Centre

Mathieu da Vinha, Scientific Director of the Palace of Versailles Scenography With the support of Research Centre. Jérôme Dumoux

Françoise d’Aubigné (detail) d’Aubigné Françoise Garnier © Thomas museum d’Agesci. Bernard Niort, canvas, on 1670, oil around 53 preface by catherine pégard President of the Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles History is undoubtedly studded with mysteries. A da Vinha are helping us rediscover. It is not the size of mysterious reversal or about-turn, a sudden rise or fall, these spaces that made them strategic. For thirty-two a mad day or strange behaviour that alters the course of years, Madame de Maintenon insisted on staying in everything. A mysterious situation dissolved or resolved this apartment, at the heart of all the royal comings and over time by the expertise, research and discoveries it goings, where she became the prime example of personal inspires. ambition, social climbing and political influence at court. Even while the court was changing… But Madame de Maintenon is one mystery that endures: “I will remain an enigma to the world,” she said, It is the modern nature of this amazing destiny that carefully destroying all traces of her life before her death. makes her seem less diabolical yet just as mysterious. From a very young age, she endeavoured to seem outside Because although the historians can lay bare the legend of herself and apart from a society in which she became a of errors and falsifications, they will surely never pivotal player, albeit unknown by most. discover the secret of the king who helped create them.

Her legend, which is both golden and dark, was The fact that Madame de Maintenon remains such a first documented by her contemporaries, the most fascinating mystery is due not only to the woman herself overbearing of whom, such as Saint-Simon and Princess but also to Louis XIV, who, at the height of his glory, Palatine, hated her without really knowing her. Even her and even after thirty-two years together, sought her out, greatest enemies acknowledged her sharp intelligence every evening when he returned from his walk. and lively spirit, but as for the rest… A precarious and exotic childhood spent among the lesser nobility, a first This small corner of the Palace of Versailles belongs to a – unlikely – marriage to a disfigured and provocative couple. A couple without compare. poet, the unexpected favour of a king, who made her his confidante and then his secret wife, and, finally, an unrivalled and shared longevity with him, which gave her enormous influence. Her face has only rarely been revealed to us by painters, but the memorialists and historians vied to produce the true “portrait of the Ambiguous One”, as Michelet once said. Ambitious “Beautiful Indian”, scheming widow, shrewd favourite, uncrowned queen, femme fatale turned hypocritical bigot, an extremely devout dark shadow – it wasn’t until the 1980s that these prejudices and inaccurate testimonies were contested by Françoise Chandernagor, based on new historiographical research.

In her wake, Alexandre Maral – General Curator of Heritage at the Palace of Versailles, who, in the course of his work over the years, has become well acquainted with the “almost queen” – and Mathieu da Vinha – Scientific Director of the Palace of Versailles research centre – enable us to meet Madame de Maintenon, without rewriting her history, in the world she built, from Scarron’s salon up to her retirement in Saint-Cyr, where she died, three hundred years ago. But especially, where she lived, in the four rooms that were completely overlooked by Louis-Philippe and which Maral and

54 foreword by laurent salomé Director of the Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon

“I am no greater a lady now than when I was in Rue des This highly original exhibition is designed not just to Tournelles, where you used freely to tell me of my faults. rhapsodise once more over this incredible ascent but also And though the rank I now hold places the world at to move science forward, to ask new questions, gather my feet, it should not matter to a man charged with the together important documents, elaborate acknowledged direction of my conscience, whom I implore to disregard facts and set them firmly within the mechanisms of the it in setting me on the path that he believes is best for my court. By revisiting this page in the story of France – a well-being.” story that is, above all, about love and spirit – in the very heart of what remains of the apartment of the “almost In these few words addressed, in 1686, to the Abbot queen”, it will, we hope, trigger something in more than Gobelin, who was her longtime confessor, Madame de a few... Maintenon reveals the modesty and piety that constitute much of the fascination we still hold for her today. These virtues, among many others, together with her known skills as a strategist, diplomat and educator, are what enabled her incredible “career” to develop as it did. This exhibition marks the tricentenary of the death of one of the most extraordinary characters in French history, who, with Louis XIV, formed a formidable couple, in which the woman was never the inferior partner. It is a chance for us – pathetically embroiled in our problems of patriarchal entitlement and misogyny as we are – to reflect on how things were during the Ancien Régime. One often hears quoted the observation made by Élisabeth Louise Vigée-Le Brun in her Memoirs that “women ruled but the Revolution dethroned them”. It marks a moment of grace that can be placed around the end of the 18th century, thus linking it, on the one side, to the reign of Louis XVI, which was considered quite feminised, and, on the other, to the philosophy of the Enlightenment – a link that is not all that obvious. Going back to the reign of Louis XIV, the degree of freedom, intellectual ambition, political engagement, courage and determination to pursue their ideals exhibited by various female figures, chief among them Madame de Maintenon, seems astonishing today – so much so that it is difficult not to view our era as fairly dismal in comparison. That all of these great aspirations, as exquisitely expressed by certain women of the Grand Siècle, remain, despite everything, imprinted in the collective memory, is largely because they stem from one particular personality, who, despite her arrogance, became popular and extreme in her austerity.

55 century. Oil on canvas. Maintenon, Château de Maintenon Château Maintenon, canvas. Oil on century. th de Montespan, Mme and King the of children two eldest the and Scarron Françoise museum. d’Agesci Bernard Niort, canvas, on 1670, oil around d’Aubigné, Françoise

: Page 50-51: Page Close-up : (1612-1695). XVII Pierre Mignard to Attributed © Christophe Fouin Above Close-up : © Thomas Garnier

56 ICI partie XX MONtimeline TITre chapter I de partie

57 chronological timeline chapter I

1635 1670 28 November: Françoise, daughter of Constant 31 March: Birth of Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, the d’Aubigné and Jeanne de Cardhilac, is baptised at future Duke of Maine. Notre-Dame de Niort. Her godparents are François de La Rochefoucauld and Suzanne de Baudéan. Françoise 1672 spent the first few months after her birth at the Château 20 June: Birth of Louis-César de Bourbon, future Count of Mursay with her aunt, Artémise de Villette, her of Vexin. father’s sister. 1673 Around 1645-1647 1 June: Birth of Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, The Aubignés travel to Marie-Galante in the West Mademoiselle de Nantes, future Princess of Condé. Indies. 1674 1647 18 November: Birth of Louise-Marie-Anne de Bourbon, 31 August: Françoise’s father, Constant d’Aubigné, dies Mademoiselle de Tours. in Orange. 27 December-18 February 1675 : Françoise d’Aubigné buys the Maintenon palace and estate. 1647-1649 Taken in by Madame de Neuillan, the mother of her 1675 and 1677 godmother, Françoise is sent to the Ursuline convent in Madame de Maintenon takes the Duke of Maine, who is Rue Crémeau in Niort and then to the one in the Rue lame and walks with difficulty, to the waters at Barèges Saint-Jacques in Paris. on two occasions.

1652 1677 After February: Death of Jeanne de Cardilhac. 4 May:Birth, at the Maintenon Palace, of Françoise- 4 April: Marriage of Paul Scarron to Françoise Marie de Bourbon – the second Mademoiselle de Blois d ’Aubigné. and future Duchess of Orléans.

From 1652 1678 Within her husband’s circle, Françoise d’Aubigné gets 6 June: Birth of Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, future to know the Maréchal d’Albret and the Marquis de Count of Toulouse. Villarceaux. 1679-1682 1660 Affair of the Poisons. 6 October: Death of Paul Scarron. Françoise d’Aubigné returns to live with the Ursulines in 1679 Rue Saint-Jacques in Paris. December: Madame de Maintenon is named second lady-in-waiting to the Dauphine Bavière. The King Around 1663-1664 grants her an apartment at Versailles, which she retains At the Maréchal d’Albret’s residence, Françoise until 1715. d’Aubigné meets Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, the Marquise de Montespan. 1683 30 July: Death of Queen Maria Theresa. 1669 9-10 October: supposed date of the secret marriage Françoise d’Aubigné is chosen to take care of the new between Louis XIV and Madame de Maintenon. child born to Madame de Montespan and Louis XIV, as well as their first-born. She goes on to look after the 1685 couple’s first five children. 18 October: Edict of Fontainebleau, which revokes the Edict of Nantes.

58 1686 1 September: Death of Louis XIV at Versailles and start 18 and 26 June: Louis XIV signs letters patent of the reign of the Regent Philip II of Orléans. establishing the Royal Manufactory of Saint-Louis at Saint-Cyr. 1717 11 June: During a trip to France, Czar Peter I of Russia 1688-1693 visits Saint-Cyr to see Madame de Maintenon. The Madame de Maintenon visits Madame Guyon. impromptu and furtive nature of the visit takes her by surprise. 1689 26 January: first staging of Racine’s tragedy Esther at 1718 Saint-Cyr. 9 December: The conspiracy by the Prince of Cellamare, Spanish ambassador to the French Court, is exposed; the 1698 Duke of Maine, who was part of it, is imprisoned by the 30 August-7 September : The Camp at Compiègne, Regent. during which Madame de Maintenon is publicly established as “favourite-queen”. 1719 15 April: Death of Madame de Maintenon in Saint-Cyr. 1700 15 November: Louis XIV accepts the will of Charles II, 1752 naming his second grandson, Philip, Duke of Anjou, the Laurent Angliviel de la Beaumelle publishes, in King of Spain. Frankfurt, the first edition of The Life of Madame de Maintenon and two volumes of her Letters; several other 1700-1714 editions follow. The Spanish War of Succession, during which Madame de Maintenon corresponds regularly with the Princess 1794 des Ursins, who has become camarera mayor of the January: Madame de Maintenon's grave in Saint-Cyr is Queen of Spain. desecrated.

1708 1865-1866 July: Inventory of furniture at the Palace of Versailles Théophile Lavallée publishes General Correspondence of by the Royal Furniture Depository, including a precise Madame de Maintenon in five volumes. inventory of Madame de Maintenon’s apartment. 1935-1939 1711 Marcel Langlois publishes The Letters of Madame de 14 April: Death of the Grand Dauphin, eldest son of Maintenon in five volumes. Louis X IV. 1981 1712 Françoise Chandernagor publishes The King's Way. 12 February: Death of the Duchess of Burgundy. 18 February: Death of the Duke of Burgundy, eldest 1995 grandson of Louis XIV. The King's Way is adapted for television by Nina 8 March: Death of the second Duke of Brittany, great Companeez. grandson of Louis XIV and older brother of the future Louis XV, who becomes Dauphin of France. 2000 Patricia Mazuy's film Saint-Cyr is released. 1714 4 May: Death of the Duke of Berry, youngest grandson 2009-2018 of Louis XIV. Honoré Champion publishes an unabridged and critical edition of the correspondence sent and received by 1715 Madame de Maintenon. 30 August: Madame de Maintenon leaves Versailles to retire to Saint-Cyr. 59 Madame de Maintenon. In the corridors of power " power corridors of the In de Maintenon. " Madame exhibition, Versailles, of Palace Garnier © Thomas Dumoux Jérôme Staging:

60 ICI partie XX the exhibition

chapter II MON TITre de partie

61 The "Beautiful Indian" first antechamber to the apartment chapter II

Record of the baptism of Françoise d’Aubigné was born in Niort in 1635 and is Françoise d’Aubigné 28 November 1635 the granddaughter of the poet and comrade-in-arms of Handwritten document Henry IV, Agrippa d’Aubigné. She spent the happiest Niort, municipal archives, old documents of the town of Niort kept at years of her childhood at the Château of Mursay, with the Deux-Sèvres Departmental Archives her paternal aunt, Artémise Le Valois de Villette. Her work displayed intrepid father disappeared after a spell in the West © Niort Agglo, Bruno Derbord Indies, and she was reduced to begging to survive. Thanks to her godmother, she was able to marry, Françoise d’Aubigné’s at the age of sixteen, the famous poet Paul Scarron. baptism is recorded This physically ugly man schooled her in the art of in the parish register conversation and appreciation of the finer things in life of Notre-Dame de – he himself was the owner of one of Nicolas Poussin’s Niort. It states that most beautiful works, which the artist painted at his she was the daughter request (this painting subsequently became part of of M[essi]re Constant d’Aubigny, lord of Aubigny the royal collections, and and Suirimeau [Surimeau] and the lady Jehanne De Madame de Maintenon Cardillac. […] Despite being born into abject poverty, had to track it down in owing to the misdeeds of her father – who was, at the Versailles). Scarron also time, incarcerated in Niort prison, in whose caretaker’s introduced his wife into quarters she is said to have come into the world – the the right circles in Paris. future Madame de Maintenon had two prestigious Consequently, she was able witnesses to her birth. Her godfather was none other to build lasting friendships, than François de La Rochefoucauld, son of Benjamin, notably with Ninon de the Count of Estissac and cousin of the author of Lenclos and then Madame the Maximes, while her godmother was Suzanne de de Sevigné, Madame Baudéan, future Duchess of Navailles and lady-in- d’Heudicourt and Madame waiting to Queen Maria Theresa. While her godmother’s de Montespan. mother, Madame de Neuillan, acquired guardianship The Ecstasy of Saint Paul, Nicolas Poussin © RMN-Grand Palais (Louvre Museum) / Widowed in 1660, Françoise of Françoise in 1648, in order to remove her from the S. Maréchalle Scarron went to live in a Protestant environment in which she was living with convent. That did not prevent the spread of rumours her aunt, Louise-Arthémise de Villette, after the death regarding an affair with the Marquis de Villarceaux, of Constant d’Aubigné the previous year, the prudish Ninon de Lenclos’ lover. The Marquis had Françoise Duchess of Navailles herself would be dismissed from Scarron painted nude, in the bath, as evidenced by the the court in 1664 for having blocked the door that mysterious canvas that still exists at the Villarceaux Louis XIV used on his nightly amorous wanderings to estate. gain access to the apartment of the Queen’s ladies-in- waiting…

62 The Governess second antechamber to the apartment chapter II

Françoise Scarron met Madame de Montespan at the Albret Françoise d'Aubigné, widow of Scar- ron, and the two eldest children of the residence and the two became friends. The latter became the King and Madame de Montespan King’s favourite in 1667 and, two years later, entrusted her Attributed to Pierre Mignard (1612-1695) Oil on canvas friend with the care of the illegitimate children that resulted Maintenon, Château of Maintenon from her relationship with Louis XIV. © Christophe Fouin Françoise Scarron’s favourite was the Duke of Maine, work displayed born in 1670. It is with him and his brother, the Count Here, Françoise Scarron of Vexin, that she was painted in the role of the Blessed is portrayed as the Virgin. The Duke of Maine had trouble walking and she Virgin Mary. She had took him on two long, successive journeys to Barèges in been fulfilling the the Pyrenees, which was known for its healing waters. role of governess to After these first two children, she looked after a further the offspring of the two girls. relationship between the King and Madame This role of governess allowed her to become established de Montespan since 1669. She is accompanied by the at court in 1673. It also gave her the opportunity to win adulterous couple’s first two known children (a girl had the favour of the King and, thanks to his generosity, previously been born, in 1669, but she died in 1672): to become the lady of the Château of Maintenon. In Louis-Auguste (1670-1736) and Louis-César (1672-1683). December 1674, she bought the estate, which is close to Both illegitimate, they were known, respectively, under Chartres, without even having seen it. Although she did the titles the Duke of Maine and the Count of Vexin. not go there much, she did have it refurbished at a later This was a clever move because, although Louis XIV’s stage, to receive the King and a section of the court. name was clearly stated on the letters of legitimation, their mother’s name was left off for fear that Monsieur Verified portraits of Madame de Maintenon are very de Montespan would claim a right to the children, who rare. The enamel by Petitot is the first known portrayal would have been legally deemed his because they were of her. Later, Françoise Scarron was also portrayed with his wife’s. her friend, Bonne de Pons, Marquise d’Heudicourt. As it features neither their first sister nor their second, There are two further portraits in the Niort museum: Louise-Françoise (1673-1743), later legitimised under the while the first, in which she is holding a pearl, seems name Mademoiselle de Nantes and the future Princess of undeniably to be of her, the second is rather more Condé, this painting is believed to date from 1673-1674. problematic, in that she is depicted with blue eyes, even It is a very important canvas, in that it was painted at the though they were known to be black. point when Louis XIV legitimised the existence of his bastard children and, as a result, of their governess, who subsequently emerged into the full glare of the court. Looking radiant, Françoise Scarron holds the Count of Vexin (portrayed as John the Baptist) in her arms, while her favourite, the Duke of Maine, is portrayed as a young shepherd (Jesus) on her left.

63 "madame de maintenant" Bedchamber chapter II

Françoise d'Aubigné, Madame de Montespan’s fall from grace followed by the Marquise de Maintenon, as Saint Frances of Rome. death of the Queen paved the way for the endgame in the Pierre Mignard (1612-1695) rise of Madame de Maintenon (nicknamed “Madame de Oil on canvas, 128 x 97 cm Versailles, Musée National des Maintenant” – Madame Now – at court): her marriage Châteaux de Versailles et Trianon © Palace of Versailles (dist. RMN-

to the King in 1683. Most likely celebrated in October work displayed at Versailles, and in the presence, in particular, of the Grand Palais) / Christophe Fouin King’s confessor, Père de La Chaise, this marriage was Here, Madame de never made official. Although the precise circumstances Maintenon is portrayed are not known, the existence of the marriage is as Saint Frances, a nevertheless not disputed, as evidenced by two very Roman noblewoman special letters from the Bishop of Chartres, Godet des with whom she shared a Marais: one, undated, addressed to Louis XIV and name. According to the especially the other, dated 12 August 1709, transcribed in painter Pierre Mignard’s Madame de Maintenon’s writing and addressed to her. biographer, Abbot Mazières de Monville, the artist, who had seen her in her By marrying Louis XIV, Madame de Maintenon youth, knew how to draw out the similarities without truly became part of the royal family. Apart from altering the nature of her age at the time. She is wearing Monseigneur, the King’s son, she dealt mainly with a cloak of deep-blue velvet, dotted with small golden Monsieur, the King’s brother, and Madame, his wife, flowers, trimmed with ermine and attached to her who were reluctant to welcome her and maintained a shoulders with a large diamond. Underneath, she wears simmering hatred towards her. a golden-brown brocade dress. Jean-Joseph Languet de Gergy reported that Mignard’s daughter asked the King The bedchamber is the third and most important room if the artist ought really to have dressed his subject in in Madame de Maintenon’s apartment. Here is where the an ermine-trimmed cloak normally reserved for the King visited her every day, mainly to work on affairs of queen, to which Louis XIV is said to have replied: “Saint State. Madame Maintenon lived in a refined setting, at Frances deserves it.” Versailles and at the other royal residences. The Marquise de Maintenon is likened here to her From the moment her favoured status become known at patron saint, Francesca Bussi dei Ponziani, an eminent court, Madame de Maintenon was the subject of much Roman aristocrat, who, in the 15th century, gathered criticism, particularly in the form of pamphlets and around her a community of noble women. Bathed in caricatures, which did not spare her. supernatural light, she is portrayed in a stark setting. Her left arm is resting on a table, upon which there is an hourglass, symbolising the passage of time and the vanity of worldly glory. Her right hand is pressed to her heart, holding a blue, ermine-trimmed cloak, a symbol of purity, which, together with her sumptuous gold dress decorated with small gemstones, references the nobleness of her patron saint and has the added advantage of emphasising her religious devotion. The book in the Marquise's hand is open at an extract from the pen of Saint Frances of Rome, which can be understood as an allusion to the pious young women of Saint-Cyr.

64 the "almost-queen" of versailles grand chamber I chapter II

Despite the difficulties she had with her in-laws, Madame de Maintenon managed to assert herself as an important figure at court by building up a network of friendships based on esteem and affection. The

main characters in this refined circle were, apart from work displayed Madame de Caylus, the Marquis de Dangeau and his wife, and Abbot Fénelon.

The arrival at court in 1696 of the Duchess of Burgundy, wife of the King’s eldest grandson, enabled Madame de Maintenon to take a leading role in the education of the royal family’s princes. Madame de Maintenon developed a particular affection for the young, 11-year-old princess, who addressed her informally as “my aunt” and spent a lot of time with her. Madame de Maintenon exerted considerable influence – for example, she appointed the key staff of the princess’ household – over this young girl, who would have reigned as queen, were it not for her untimely death, at the age of 26.

Throughout her lengthy marriage to Louis XIV (1683- 1715), Madame de Maintenon had several published works dedicated to her, including a remarkable collection of psalms laid out in the form of calligrams. She was also the subject of several engraved works, which The Camp at Compiègne were destined for wide Anonymous (engraver), Jacques Langlois (editor) distribution, unlike 1699 almanac: The camp and headquarters at Compiègne commanded by the Duke of Burgundy, where the King delivers a magnificent presentation to all the painted portraits. parties on the art of war. 1699, engraving, H. 83.3 ; L. 59.5 cm Of these engravings, Paris, National Library of France, Philosophy, History, Human and Social the one by Giffart is Sciences Department, RESERVE QB-201(171, 14)-FT 5 noteworthy, in that it © National Library of France incorporates elements that refer to her status at court.

The seven penitential psalms by Deslespée 1704, Versailles, City Library, manuscripts © Christophe Fouin

65 The School Principal Grand Chamber II chapter II

Saint-Cyr is the pinnacle of Madame de Maintenon’s work as an educator. Founded in 1686 to accommodate the impoverished daughters of the French nobility, the institution – of which she was the de facto principal – was set up in the vast buildings constructed by Jules

Hardouin-Mansart on the edge of Versailles. works on display

There were around 250 young ladies at Saint-Cyr, divided into four levels and carefully selected, as is evident from Madame de Maintenon’s correspondence. They received a first-class, modern education, a significant part of which was devoted to spiritual activities. The great playwright Racine wrote two biblical Louis XIV tragedies for Saint-Cyr – Esther in 1689, followed by Nicolas-René Jollain, known as Jollain le Vieux. Oil on canvas, 221 x 165 cm Athalie in 1691 – to be staged by the boarders. Madame de Maintenon and her niece Louis, known as Ferdinand, Elle (1612-1689). Oil on canvas, 219 x 142 cm

The portrait of Louis XIV holding the plans for the Versailles, Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon Saint-Cyr buildings is the counterpart of the one of © Palace of Versailles (dist. RMN-Grand Palais) / Christophe Fouin Madame de Maintenon accompanied by her niece, the future Duchess of Noailles. Both portraits were painted The two portraits were probably conceived of as a pair, as for Saint-Cyr, where they were hung side by side. they are of similar size. Offered to Saint-Cyr by the King in 1689, they are recorded as hanging in the common Louis XIV visited Saint-Cyr often, taking care to room throughout the 18th century, up until they were announce his arrival, as revealed by one of the surviving seized during the Revolution. short notes that he often wrote to his wife. Wearing the collar of the Order of the Holy Spirit, Louis XIV is portrayed in royal dress. He is pointing with Upon the King’s death, in 1715, Madame de Maintenon his left hand to the plans for the Saint-Cyr buildings, retired permanently to Saint-Cyr, where she eventually constructed in 1685-1686 by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, died, on 15 April 1719. One of the last portraits of her First Architect to the King. could be the one painted by Jouvenet, showing her dressed as a lady of Saint-Cyr. Madame de Maintenon’s portrait is, like her husband’s, full-length. In it, she is sitting in an armchair and wearing a loose black dress. While this, as the Marquise wrote to Abbot Gobelin in 1680, was how she dressed as a lady-in-waiting to the Dauphine, its overall hue also calls to mind the attire of the ladies of Saint-Cyr. In one hand, she is holding the arm of her niece, Françoise d’Aubigné, the future Duchess of Noailles, who she raised nearby. In the other, she is holding a rose and pointing to other roses mixed with orange blossoms – symbols of a pious youth and preparing for marriage in purity, which is another reference to Saint-Cyr, whose buildings can be seen in the background, on the left.

66 Madame de Maintenon and her Legend chapter II Grand Chamber III

Peter the Great calls on Madame de The extraordinary life and rise of Madame were a Maintenon Thérèse de Champ-Renaud (1861-1921) constant source of intrigue, whether simply curious or Around 1890 ill-intentioned. Oil on canvas Maintenon, Château of Maintenon © Christophe Fouin

Madame de Maintenon certainly developed her own work displayed legend in her lifetime. “Here I am, no longer able to prove On 11 June 1717, while that I was, indeed, with the King”, she announced when, on a visit to France, Czar having retired to Saint-Cyr following the death of Louis Peter the Great insisted XIV, she burnt numerous letters, including those she had on paying homage to received from her husband – an act that drove the first Madame de Maintenon person to edit her correspondence, La Beaumelle, to forge and so arrived at Saint- some letters. Cyr, where he spent some time. From the time she retired to Saint-Cyr, Madame de According to Saint-Simon’s memoirs, the Czar was Maintenon became something of a living legend, with happy to simply part the curtains of the Marquise’s visitors trying to catch a glimpse of her. In 1717, for bed and, having seen her, withdrew without saying a example, while on a visit to France, Peter the Great word. According to Madame de Maintenon herself, who insisted on meeting Madame de Maintenon, a living relic wrote about this visit in her correspondence, he sat at of the reign now over and widow of the Great King. As the end of her bed, asked if she were unwell and, when with other episodes in Madame de Maintenon’s life, the she replied that she was, questioned her on the nature arrival of the Czar at Saint-Cyr was the inspiration for of her illness. “He didn’t know what to say to me and several historical reports of the 19th century. his interpreter didn’t appear to be able to hear me. His was an extremely short visit […]. He had to pull back Despised or admired, Madame de Maintenon still the curtain from the end of my bed a little to see me.” holds a fascination for us today, as evidenced by the According to another source, he said of her: “She is too international success of L’Allée du roi (The King's Way), worthy and has given too much in the service of the the fictitious memoirs of Madame de Maintenon King and of France.” published in 1981 by Françoise Chandernagor and subsequently adapted for television. From Si Versailles While Peter the Great was visiting Saint-Cyr, the m’était conté (Royal Affairs at Versailles) to the series noblemen in his entourage, who had stayed in Versailles, Versailles, and not forgetting Saint-Cyr, the many ways brought loose women into Madame de Maintenon’s in which Madame de Maintenon has been portrayed former apartment. The visit of this young, ambitious demonstrate just how much her bizarre yet glorious sovereign to Madame de Maintenon […] inspired the destiny appeals to the imagination. dramatic arrangement of Thérèse de Champ-Renaud’s painting, with the raising of the curtain and the concerned and curious onlookers – a nun and ladies from Saint-Cyr. By contrast, Madame de Maintenon lies beneath her shroud-like bedcover, still and impassive, as if unaware of the honour of being visited by the Czar, in all his imperial purple finery.

Later, in 1764, the reach of Saint-Cyr extended to Russia, with the founding in St. Petersburg by the Empress Catherine II of the Smolny Institute, which continued to operate up to 1917.

67 An Apartment rediscovered chapter II

The reopening of Madame de Maintenon’s apartment First Antechamber means the public can now get a sense of the environment The exhibition is entered via the First Antechamber, in which she lived for 35 years, between 1680 and 1715. decorated in “Venetian brocade featuring flowers and As this type of décor no longer exists at Versailles, this curlicues on a white background and red damask”. exhibition offers a unique opportunity to admire the This is described more precisely in the inventory as interior of a courtier’s apartment from the time of the a “tapestry comprising twelve bands of red, small- Grand Siècle. patterned damask and seventeen vertical strips of Venetian brocade on a white background”. The words The wall-hangings were rewoven by Tassinari & Chatel used throw some light on the structure of the bands, in – the nation’s oldest silk manufacturer, founded in Lyon that it could be assumed that the red damask bands were by Louis XIV – who worked from descriptions in the broader than the vertical strips of Venetian brocade. 1708 inventory of the Royal Furniture Depository and based on designs and colours from the era in question to The “red, small-patterned damask” here is Racines recreate versions of these decorative textiles that are as damask – a design from the manufactory’s archives that close as possible to the descriptions available. is highly typical of the output of the Lyon site in the early The patterns for each room were carefully selected and 17th century. It features a densely repeated botanical respected the design structures of the Louis XIV era. pattern. The flower and curlicue-heavy Venetian brocade, meanwhile, is decorated with extravagant The various crimson damask designs come from floral motifs staggered over a white background, in the Tassinari & Chatel’s archives, while the other three Venetian style of the early 18th century. fabrics used are silks from the Patrimoine collection sold by Lelièvre.

Madame de Maintenon. In the Corridors of Power exhibition Staging, Jérôme Dumoux © Thomas Garnier

68 Second Antechamber The Orion damask has been used to interpret the large- In the Second Antechamber, Asnières damask – a very patterned damask, with its décor of acanthus leaves and pretty design from the manufactory’s archives dating pomegranates, which was typical of the first half of the from the early 18th century – has been used to represent 18th century. the “tapestry of crimson damask, standard design, featuring twenty-six-and-a-half bands, lined with The Grand Chamber wainscoting, and ten vertical strips of gold mollet. The Finally, the arcade-style Grand Chamber is decorated symmetrical, tapered design, featuring an open flower with a “tapestry of thirty-one bands of gold brocade from which a wreath of leaves emerges to wind around threaded with golden, curling flowers and thirty-one the flowers and acanthus leaves, is a classic, albeit bands of small-patterned crimson damask bordered common composition of the time. from top to bottom with eight strips of golden mollet”.

The Bedchamber The gold brocade was recreated using the Mortemer Madame de Maintenon’s bedchamber is fitted out with a damask (from the manufactory’s Patrimoine “tapestry of twenty-five bands of gold and green damask collection), featuring a composition of floral elements and twenty-four bands of large-patterned crimson on a background of small flowers, which matches the damask bordered by gold mollet and small gold braiding description perfectly, in terms of its deep gold colouring. on the seams”. The sumptuousness of the décor in It is associated with the crimson damask Le Bas de this room has been recreated using La Coquille green Montargis, taken from the archives, and the magnificent and gold damask (from the manufactory’s Patrimoine lace décor of stylised flowers and leaves from 1710. collection), featuring a pointed pattern with a central motif of artichoke flowers fanned out on a shell, surrounded by pomegranates and foliage, which would have appeared around the end of Louis XIV’s reign.

Madame de Maintenon. In the Corridors of Power exhibition Staging, Jérôme Dumoux © Thomas Garnier

69 Madame de Maintenon and her niece. Louis, known as Ferdinand, Elle (1612-1689). Oil on canvas. (1612-1689). Oil on Elle as Ferdinand, Louis, known her niece. and de Maintenon Madame Close-up : et de Trianon de Versailles des Châteaux National Musée Versailles, Fouin / Christophe Palais) RMN-Grand (dist. Versailles of © Palace

70 ICI partie XX around the chapter III MONexhibition TITre de partie

71 publications chapter III

exhibition catalogue madame de maintenon in the corridors of power

Featuring a wide selection of artworks and contributions from period experts, this publication allows readers to discover every aspect of Madame de Maintenon.

Edited by Mathieu da Vinha and Alexandre Maral

contents

Madame de Maintenon (1635-1719), tricentenary exhibition - Mathieu da Vinha and Alexandre Maral.

Mme de Maintenon, Les précieuses et la "préciosité" (The precious ones and "preciosity") - M. Dufour-Maître

De l’ombre à la lumière : la transition entre Mme de Montespan et Madame de Maintenon (From darkness into light: the transition from Mme de Montespan to Madame de Maintenon) - M. da Vinha

Le mariage secret de Mme de Maintenon (Mme de Maintenon's secret marriage) - J-P. Desprat

Idées reçues sur Mme de Maintenon (Received ideas about Mme de Maintenon) - A. Maral

Une reine de l’ombre ? L’influence politique de Mme de Maintenon (A queen behind the scenes? Mme de Maintenon's political influence) - T. Sarmant

"Parler avec la force et les charmes". Réflexions sur l’amitié de Mme de Maintenon et de la princesse des Ursins ("Speaking with power and charm". Reflections on the friendship between Mme de Maintenon and the Princess des Ursins) - AM. Goulet

Les amies de cœur de Mme de Maintenon (Mme de Maintenon's close friends) - M. Loyau

Jointly published by the palace of versailles and Mme de Maintenon et Saint-Cyr (Madame de Maintenon and Saint-Cyr) - D. Picco hazan 192 pages, 24 x 28 cm, 93 illustrations Regards contemporains sur Mme de Maintenon (A contemporary take on Mme de €35 Maintenon) - P. Hourcade, Available to buy online at www.boutique-chateauversailles.fr and in the shops at the Palace of Versailles. La légende de Mme de Maintenon de sa mort à nos jours (The legend of Mme de media contact for Éditions hazan Maintenon from her death to the present day) - F. Chandernagor, Agence Observatoire / Bérengère Guicheteau [email protected] / +33 1 43 54 87 71 Mme de Maintenon au cinéma et à la télévision (Mme de Maintenon on film and television) - G. Sabatier

Chronological timelines

72 other publications

Madame de Maintenon's Palace of Versailles magazine correspondence De l’Ancien régime à nos jours (no. 33)

This 11th volume is the final one in the unabridged and critical edition of Madame de Maintenon’s correspondence. It comprises 562 letters and notes addressed to the Marquise, as well as nine signed letters discovered after the publication of the previous Special feature: "Madame de Maintenon. The last wife of volumes. The letters to Mme de Maintenon were sent by Louis XIV" 99 different correspondents over the course of the final years of her life, from 1715 to 1719. The letters and notes Following the death of Queen Maria Theresa, Louis XIV from Mme de Caylus make up almost two thirds of this hesitated before taking a second wife. As there was no corpus. diplomatic rule obliging him to marry a foreign princess, Joint publication of the Palace of Versailles and he chose simply to make his relationship with Françoise honoré champion d’Aubigné official. 11 volumes - 2009-2018 Available to buy online at www.boutique-chateauversailles.fr and in the shops at the This morganatic marriage, which was blessed in secret, Palace of Versailles. allowed him to get back on an even keel. The widow Scarron kept a low profile and was very discreet, meaning Madame de Maintenon. La presque reine this second part of the reign was the polar opposite to (the almost-queen) the early years. The atmosphere at court was completely different – more devotional and a lot calmer.

éditions soteca € 9.90 Available to buy online at www.boutique-chateauversailles.fr and in the shops at the Palace of Versailles.

Françoise d’Aubigné’s destiny is, without doubt, the most spectacular exception to the rule of social barriers under the Ancien Régime. Her education, her first marriage to the poet Paul Scarron and subsequent widowhood, her meeting with the King’s mistress, Madame de Montespan, her first associations with the court, her time looking after the royal bastards and the Affair of the Poisons were some of the many stages in her long and incredible ascent to the side of Louis XIV.

Joint publication of the Palace of Versailles and belin by Alexandre Maral 416 pages, 14 x 22 cm €25 Available to buy online at www.boutique-chateauversailles.fr and in the shops at the Palace of Versailles. 73 Detail from the ceiling in the Queen's bedchamber, Palace of Versailles © Palace of Versailles, Thomas Garnier part V Plan your visit Guided Tours: part v The Women of Versailles: interlinked portraits Whether as royal spouses, members of the royal family ■ Marie-Antoinette at the Petit Trianon or ladies of the court, the women of Versailles certainly made their presence felt. From Madame de Maintenon In 1774, Queen Marie-Antoinette was given the Petit to Marie-Antoinette, each character left her mark – Trianon by Louis XVI. The estate subsequently became socially, culturally and politically. her realm. Free from the bounds of etiquette, she created a world that reflected her personality and the fashion at ■ Madame de Maintenon. In the Corridors of Power the Trianon estate the time.. guided tour of the exhibition At 1.30 pm: 4, 10, 18 & 23 April; 4 & 25 May; 7 & 25 June; At 10.30 am: 9, 11 & 29 May: 2, 7, 18 & 30 June; 3 & 11 July. 9 & 21 July; 7 & 22 August; 6 & 25 September. At 2.15 pm: 22 & 26 May; 21 & 28 June; 7 July. At 3.15 pm: 4, 10 April; 4 May; 7 & 25 June; 21 July; 7 August; 6 & 25 September. ■ The Taste of Marie Leszczyńska guided tour of the exhibition ■ The Queen's Hamlet at the Palace of versailles Marie Leszczyńska, wife of Louis XV, is remembered, above all, At 1.30 pm: 3, 7, 27 & 30 April; 2, 21 & 29 May; 1, 15 for her utter dignity and discretion. But it is through her taste, & 26 June; 3, 7, 13, 18 & 27 July; 6, 10, 11, 14, 24 & 30 her passions and the activities that enchanted and excited her August; that the true personality of this sovereign is revealed. Painting, 7, 8, 21 & 22 September. music and China are just some of the many subjects to explore At 3.30 pm: 3, 7, 14, 18, 23, 27 & 30 April; 14, 21, 24, 25 & in this exhibition held in the Dauphine’s apartments. 29 May; 8, 11, 22 & 26 June; 3, 9, 18, 20 & 28 July; 3, 6, 14, At 10.30 am: 16 & 23 May; 14, 16, 25 & 28 June; 18 & 21 July; 2, 17, 22, 25 & 31 August; 14, 15, 24 & 29 September. 7 & 23 August; 4, 15, 20 & 28 September. At 2.15 pm: 17 May; 10 July; 28 August; 12 September. Prices: €10 + admission fee. Free for children aged under 10. Duration: 90 minutes Booking essential on www.chateauversailles.fr, tel: + 33 (0)1 30 83 78 00 or in person on the day at the Ministers' North Wing (places are limited). Visits start directly in front of the entrance to the Grand Trianon. ■ Louis XV's Daughters' Apartments Discover the complete programme on chateauversailles.fr

Two royal princesses, Madame Adélaïde and Madame Victoire, known affectionately as “Loque” and “Coche” by their father, lived in these apartments until the Revloution. These rooms, Visiting the Palace: audioguides are free and available in which are located below the King’s State Apartments, are 11 languages, including French Sign Language. For tours of indicative of the lavish lifestyle of these ladies and their clear the State Apartments, a French-only audioguide is available preference for “modern” art. especially for children from the age of 8 years. For the Marie At 10.30 am: 16 & 26 April; 10 & 12 May; 15 & 22 June; 5, 19 & Leszczyńska exhibition, audioguides are available in 11

28 July; 4 & 30 August; 10, 12 , 21 & 27 September. Free audioguide languages: French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, At 2.15 pm: 5 & 19 June; 16 August. Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Korean and Polish.

■ In the Realm of the King's Favourites

The royal favourites are also part of the history and legend of Versailles. Both Madame de Pompadour and Madame Du Barry occupied the luxurious accommodation right by King Louis XV’s private apartments. By visiting them, the public can discover another facet of the King’s everyday life. At 10.30 am: 3 April, 3, 14 & 24 May; 23 June; 9 & 24 July; 17 & 28 August; 6, 11, 22 & 24 September. At 2.15 pm: 13 & 25 April, 19 May; 13 & 30 June ; 16 & 31 July; 4 August & 18 September.

82 Practical part v information

Getting to the Palace from Paris The Queen's State Apartment and exhibitions can be – RER C, going towards Versailles Château - Rive Gauche accessed by the following: holders of Passport or Estate – Mainline trains (SNCF) from Montparnasse Station, going Prices of Trianon tickets, "A Year in Versailles" cardholders and towards Versailles - Chantiers those who qualify for free entry (under-18s, under-26s

getting there – Mainline trains (SNCF) from Gare Saint-Lazare, who are residents of the EU, disabled persons, French going towards Versailles - Rive Droite unemployed persons, etc.) – RATP bus no. 171 from the Pont de Sèvres going towards Versailles Place d’Armes Palace ticket, also gives access to temporary exhibitions: – A13 motorway (towards Rouen), Versailles-Château exit €18, reduced price €13. – Parking at Place d’Armes. There is a charge for parking, except for disabled drivers, and on special-event evenings from Estate of Trianon ticket: €12, reduced price €8. 7.30 pm. 1-day Passport gives access to the Palace, gardens, the Grand Getting to the Estate of Trianon: Trianon and Petit Trianon and Marie-Antoinette's estate, the – From Paris: A13 motorway (towards Rouen); Coach Gallery and temporary exhibitions: €20/€27 on days of take the second exit, Versailles Notre - Dame. the Musical Fountains Show and the Musical Gardens.

– From the Palace: 25-minute walk through the gardens, or get 2-day Passport gives access over two consecutive days to the little train to the Petit Trianon and Grand Trianon stops. the Palace, gardens, the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon and Marie-Antoinette's estate, the Coach Gallery and temporary exhibitions: €25/€30 on days of the Musical Fountains Show The Palace is open every day except Mondays and and the Musical Gardens. 1 May: – from 9 am to 6.30 pm in high season, last admission Free entry for those aged under 18 and residents of the EU at 6 pm (ticket offices close at 5.50 pm). aged under 26, except for the Musical Fountains Show and the Musical Gardens. Opening hoursOpening The Estate of Trianon is open every day except The park is free to access every day, all year round. Mondays and 1 May: The garden is free to access, except for the Musical Fountains – in high season, the Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon are Show and the Musical Gardens. The Musical Fountains Show open from midday to 6.30 pm, last admission at 6 pm and the Musical Gardens are free for children aged up to 5 (ticket offices close at 5.50 pm). years. – from midday to 7.30 pm for the gardens and the Queen's Hamlet (gardens are closed from 7 pm). – from midday to 5.30 pm in low season, last admission at Free entry for unguided visits to the Palace, Marie- 5 pm (ticket offices close at 4.50 pm). Antoinette's estate and temporary exhibitions, but not including the Musical Fountains Show, for: The Versailles park and gardens are open every day: – disabled people and one companion, on presentation of – in high season, the park is open from 7 am to 8.30 pm and proof of disability the gardens, from 8 am to 8.30 pm, last access at 7 pm. – recipients of minimum social benefits upon presentation of Versailles for all – from 8 am to 6 pm in low season. proof dated no more than 6 months previously – for jobseekers in France High season: 1 April - 31 October – for teachers working in French educational institutions and Low season: 1 November - 31 March holding a Pass Éducation. Information and booking: + 33 (0)1 30 83 75 05 and [email protected]

Press contacts Palace of Versailles @CVersailles Hélène Dalifard, Aurélie Gevrey, Violaine Solari, Élodie Vincent facebook.com/chateauversailles twitter.com/CVersailles +33 (0)1 30 83 75 21 / [email protected] presse.chateauversailles.fr Palace of Versailles Chateauversailles youtube.com/chateauversailles instagram.com/chateauversailles