AND ENTERTAINMENT in the COURT Exhibition from 29 November 2016 to 26 March 2017
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AND ENTERTAINMENT IN THE COURT Exhibition from 29 November 2016 to 26 March 2017 3 Contents Press release 5 Foreword by Catherine Pégard 7 Foreword by Béatrix Saule 9 The exhibition 13 The exhibition route, an invitation to the party 14 1- Hunting with the King 16 2- The last carousels 18 3- Places of entertainment 20 4- At the theatre 22 5- At the concert 27 6- Promenades 30 7- At the gaming table 32 8- At the ball 34 9- Creating marvellous effects 37 In connection with the exhibition 43 Publications 44 The musical programme 46 Guided tours and school programmes 50 Programmes for special audiences 52 Related products 56 Press contacts The exhibition partners 59 Hélène Dalifard, Patrons 60 Aurélie Gevrey, Elsa Martin, Media partners 66 Violaine Solari +33 (0)1 30 83 75 21 [email protected] presse.chateauversailles.fr Practical information 69 Press release Parties and entertainment in the Court of Versailles Exhibition from 29 November to 26 March 2017 Africa and Crimea rooms ET DIVErTISSEMENTSVErTISSEMENTS À LALA COUrCOUr Exposition du 29 novembre 2016 au 26 mars 2017 Tous les jours, sauf le lundi, de 9h à 17h30 (dernière admission 16h45) Vos billets sur www.chateauversailles.fr As a political monarch, King Louis XIV took “grand entertainment” to the height of magnificence, making Versailles a venue for monumental, extraordinary, and fantastical parties and shows. The king had a shrewd understanding of the human mind and understood that “this society of pleasure, which gives members of the court an honest familiarity with [the sovereign], and touches and charms them more than can be said,” (Louis XIV, Memoirs for the Instruction of the Dauphin, 1661) was necessary for the political framework he had built. Everyday life in court required multiple forms of entertainment, and extraordinary royal Avec le mécénat de Avec le soutien de L’exposition est réalisée avec le concours exceptionnel En partenariat média avec de la Bibliothèque nationale de France events needed to surprise and enthral the court, the kingdom, and all of Europe. ©Le Bal des Ifs ; bal masqué donné dans la galerie des Glaces, le 25 février 1745, pour le mariage du Dauphin Louis avec l’Infante Marie-Thérèse-Raphaëlle d’Espagne, par Charles Nicolas Cochin le Jeune (1715-1790) /©RMN-GP (Château de Versailles)/Gérard Blot - Visuel : DES SIGNES studio Muchir Desclouds Each of his successors maintained the tradition of splendid, creative shows in their own way, according to their own tastes and the fashions of the time. Curators Béatrix Saule This exhibition will present the infinite variety and ingenuity of entertainment in the Head Curator of the court, whether put on by the king or practiced by the courtiers themselves. This exhibition and Director- Head Curator at the Musée entertainment included all kinds of public shows, comedies, operas, concerts, fireworks and National des Châteaux de light displays, as well as private performances during which Seigneurs and Ladies of the court Versailles et de Trianon took to the stage themselves. Gambling was very popular, leading to fortune or ruin, as were Élisabeth Caude physical activities in which courtiers had to shine, including hunting, dancing at balls and Head Curator and Head of masquerades, and sports such as pall-mall and real tennis. the Furniture and Objets d’Art Department at the Covering three reigns, from Louis XIV to the revolution, Musée National des the exhibition does not aim to Châteaux de Versailles et de be exhaustive, but rather focuses on the courtier’s point of view. A large selection of clothing, Trianon paintings, objects and images from public and private collections in France and abroad Jérôme de La Gorce showcases the wide range of entertainment available at the time, and the refinement that Emeritus Director of surrounded it. The exhibition also includes large visuals, 3D images and immersive scenes that Research at the CNRS, invite visitors to rediscover the atmosphere in the venues — some of which no longer exist — Scientific Advisor to the Centre de Recherche du and imagine what life in the king’s court was like. Château de Versailles at the CNRS Scenography This exhibition has received patronage from Saint-Gobain, with support from Epson, Samsung Artistic Director: Patrick Electronics France, Fêtes et Feux, and Moët Hennessy. Hourcade, photographer and designer With kind collaboration from the Opéra National de Paris, the AROP, and the Friends of Versailles. Agence Décoral: Patrick Bazanan, Valéry Sanglier, The exhibition was produced with exceptional support from the Bibliothèque Nationale de and Marine Bouthémy France. 7 Foreword Entertain in order to govern. Louis XIV handed down this precept to the Dauphin as a guideline for his rule. He needed to enchant courtiers every day, in the same way as he held them under his authority, and astonishment was to glorify his reign and spread its reputation throughout Europe. For almost a whole century the King, as patron of the arts, encouraged all forms of entertainment. Each of his successors followed his example in accordance with their own tastes. Performances and sport, hunting and games, dances or promenades took place night and day, in accordance with a very strict ritual. Hunting was by far the monarchs' favourite form of entertainment. Royal paintings depicted ever more elaborate killings and even Marie-Antoinette was a keen hunter. Music was played for sumptuous events and during more private moments, right up until Louis XIV's final breath. Different forms of theatre were performed on all kinds of stages. The repertoire revealed timeless talents and a profusion of creation. Anything could be said in front of the king through music and words while a multitude of stories, whether long or short, were brought to life. Considerable sums of money were won and lost in the same evening at the gaming table. People dressed up for balls, with masks to hide their feelings. In the gardens, courtiers pushed each other on swings and enjoyed water displays while riding in gondolas on the Grand Canal. Indoors, outdoors, in rooms and groves, Versailles was the setting for numerous festivities that combined power and daily life during three reigns, each with its own specific customs. Louis XIV was admired as the best dancer in the kingdom, Louis XV went incognito to masked balls, and his daughters were talented musicians. Marie-Antoinette took to the stage in her own small theatre. The court was entertained, murmured, was moved or filled with enthusiasm. This exhibition, created by Béatrix Saule, Élisabeth Caude and Jérôme de La Gorce, reveals the passion and emotion in the court. It leads us into a world of extraordinary ingenuity, whose diversity and atmosphere are brought to life by Patrick Hourcade’s no less imaginative scenography. Today's "theatre machinery" stages the great shows of time past, thanks to loans from public and private collections in both France and abroad, brought together for the first time. A big thank you to all those who have helped reveal this marvellous world. Catherine Pégard President of the Public Institution of the Palace, Museum, and National Estate of Versailles 9 Foreword Though a number of recent studies have restored the image of Versailles during the Ancien Régime as a seat of power in its own right, the notion of an idle court occupied with parties and entertainment remains firmly rooted in the collective imagination. Although we refute this perception, it cannot be denied that the French Court from Louis XIV to Louis XVI did indeed place great importance on such festivities. The splendour of grand celebrations held to honour victories or dynastic events is described and illustrated in meticulous and lavish detail, revealing that they greatly outshone regular entertainment in the Court. Although this less extravagant entertainment has been studied by generations of historians, very little has been published on the subject. As always, the extraordinary is easier to portray than the ordinary. Nevertheless, the two forms of entertainment go hand in hand, since the court's grandest shows were designed on a similar basis to daily entertainment, but on a much larger scale. The exhibition has been designed from the Courtiers' perspective, for whom various forms of daily entertainment were both an object of desire and a way to pass the time, especially in the case of those with no responsibilities and the most prone to boredom, like the Duke of Croÿ who always had a book in his pocket. But what does "entertainment" actually mean? The term only recently took on a positive meaning. According to Philippe Hourcade, Honorary Professor at the University of Limoges and President of the Société Saint-Simon, its etymological meaning of "diversion" (referred to by Pascal as humanity's illusory consolation) came to designate "pleasure that relieves boredom" during the 1620s, and the acceptance of this meaning reflected of an entire generation's desire to enjoy life after the Fronde, in the euphoric atmosphere of the early years of Louis XIV's reign. The king quickly took advantage of this desire. In his Memoirs for the Instruction of the Dauphin, he attached great importance to parties and entertainment, which he believed were part of the art of governance. Everyday life in court needed this “society of pleasure, which gives members of the court an honest familiarity with [the monarch], and touches and charms them more than can be said”. Royal events needed to be extraordinary with ever more grandeur, surprises, and fantasy in order to astonish and amaze the court, kingdom and the rest of Europe. A new phenomenon emerged: the institutionalisation of entertainment which, as a result of its systematic nature, organisation, and regular programme of activities, was unique to the court of Versailles.