32 The Taste of Marie part II Leszczynska Previous page: Previous (1674-1734). 1725. Oil on Belle Alexis-Simon Leszczyńska France. (1703-1768), Queen of Marie Detail from canvas. et de Trianon. de Versailles des châteaux national musée Versailles, Fouin / Christophe Palais) RMN - Grand (dist. Versailles of © Palace Above: Chamber Chinese the in a panel from Detail (1710-1795), Frédou (1735-1807), Jean-Martial Coqueret Leszczyńska (1703-1768), Henri-Philippe-Bon Marie the 1762), under between 1740 and (working Prévost 1710-1767), Jean-Louis (around de La Roche Jean-Philippe de Versailles des châteaux national musée Versailles, canvas. (1699-1789). 1761. Oil on Jeaurat Étienne of direction et de Trianon Fouin Dist. RMN / Christophe Versailles, of © Palace

34 Marie chapter I Leszczynska, An Unknown queen chronological timeline chapter I

23 June 1703 23 February 1745 Birth, in Trzebnica (Poland, Lower Silesia region), Marriage of the Dauphin to Maria Teresa Rafaela of of Marie Leszczyńska, second daughter of Spain. Stanislas I Leszczyński (1677-1766), short-lived of Poland (reigned 1704-1709 and 1733-1736), and 22 July 1746 Catherine Opalińksa (1680-1747). Death of the Dauphine Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain.

15 February 1710 8 February 1747 Birth, in Versailles, of the Duc d’, the future Louis Marriage of the Dauphin to Marie Josepha of Saxony. XV. 19 March 1747 5 September 1725 Death of Catherine Opalińksa. Marriage of the young Louis XV to Marie Leszczyńska in the Chapelle de la Trinité of Fontainebleau Palace. 20 December 1765 Death of Louis Ferdinand, Dauphin of France, at 14 August 1727 Fontainebleau. Birth of the twins, Louise Élisabeth and Anne Henriette. 23 February 1766 4 September 1729 Death of Stanislas I Leszczyński. Birth of Louis Ferdinand, Dauphin of France. 13 March 1767 11 September 1733 Death of the Dauphine Marie Josepha of Saxony. Stanislas is made King of Poland for the second time. 24 June 1768 3 April 1737 Death of the Marie Leszczyńska at Versailles. Her body Stanislas settles in Lunéville. is interred at Saint-Denis, while her heart is taken to Nancy and laid to rest with her parents. 2 May 1738 Treaty of Vienna, under which Stanislas receives the 10 May 1774 duchies of Lorraine and Bar. Death of King Louis XV at Versailles.

26 August 1739 Marriage of Madame Élisabeth to the of Spain, Felipe.

36 family tree chapter I

LouiseLouise ÉlisabetHÉlisabeth duchesseDuchess ofde Parma Parme (Mme Infante)(Mme Infante) (1727-1759) (1727-1759)

AnneHENRIETTE Henriette THE (1727-1752)SECOND MADAME 51727-1752°

LOUISe MARIE THELouise THIRD MarieMADAME (1728-1733)(1728-1733°

Louis XIV LouisLouis Ferdinand Ferdinand Louis XIV Grand of LouisLouis XV XV Dauphin of France roi de France Grand Duc de dauphin de France King of France Dauphin Burgundy roiKing de of France France (1729-1765) et de Dauphin Bourgogne (1729-1765) and Navarre (1661-1711) (1682-1712) et andde Navarre Navarre Navarre (1661-1711) (1682-1712) (1638-1715) (1710-1774)(1710-1774) (1638-1715) Adélaïde oo Philippe à Fontainebleauat Fontainebleau MadameDuke of Adélaïde Anjou leon 5 5 septembreSeptember 1725 (1732-1800) (1730-1733) StanislasStanislas I LeszczyNski 1725 er KingI Leszczyński of Poland Marie roi(1677-1766) de Pologne Marie PhilippeAdélaïde Leszczyńska (1677-1766) LeszczyNska The ducFourth d’Anjou Madame reineQueen deof then(1730-1733) Madame Adélaïde CatherineCatherine OpaliNska FranceFrance (1732-1800) Opalińska(1680-1747) (1703-1768)(1703-1768) (1680-1747) victoire The FourthVictoire Madame thenMadame Madame Victoire victoire (1733-1799)(1733-1799)

sophie The FifthSophie Madame thenMadame Madame Sophie sophie (1734-1782)(1734-1782)

Marie-Thérèse Félicité Marie-Thérèse The Sixth Madame Félicité (1736-1744) (1736-1744)

Louise The SeventhLouise Madame, thenMadame Madame Louise (1737-1787)(1737-1787)

37 Rococo vase with figuratively painted pink ribbons and bunches of flowers bunches and ribbons pink painted Close-up: vase Rococo figuratively with porcelain 1757-1758, soft-paste manufactory, SèvresRoyal porcelain et de Trianon de Versailles des châteaux national musée Versailles, Fouin Dist. RMN / © Christophe Versailles, of © Palace

38 exhibition chapter II route Marie Leszczynska, a Polish queen chapter II room 2 room 1

Nothing prepared Marie Leszczyńska for becoming Stanislas the Ist Leszczinski, King of Poland Queen of France. The daughter of Stanislas Leszczyński, Jean-Baptiste Van Loo (1684-1745) 1727, oil on canvas the deposed king of Poland who was forced to cede his Versailles, Musée National des Châteaux de throne to Augustus II, Elector of Saxony, she settled in Versailles et de Trianon © RMN-GP (Palace of Versailles) / Gérard Wissembourg, in Alsace, with her family in 1719. His Blot past glory entitled her father to consider marriage to an important figure for her but after several setbacks, works on display Stanislas I Leszczyński, history took a different turn. It was not just any alliance King of Poland, posed for with royal blood that awaited the young woman, but Jean-Baptiste Van Loo in marriage to the King himself. 1727, standing proud in his ceremonial armour with The death of the Regent in 1723 raised the spectre of the blue riband of the Order the succession of the Orléans branch of the family: if of the Holy Spirit across Louis XV were to die without descendants, the son of his chest and his sword the deceased Regent would become heir to the French and extravagant helmet on either side of him. Exiled to throne. So, it was at that point that Louis XV, the young Chambord, he still claimed the Polish throne, which he thirteen-year-old king, was engaged to the Infanta of held from 1704 to 1709. He did not regain it until 1733, Spain, who was aged just seven. But the engagement was following the death of his rival, Augustus II of Saxony, broken off, at the risk of a diplomatic incident. but his reign lasted just three years.

The Duke of Bourbon, the sovereign’s prime minister, set The Russian invasion forced him to flee to Gdansk and about trying to find a Catholic princess of royal blood then, in 1736, he had to bow down to Augustus III of who would be able to produce a dauphin quickly. Thus Saxony (1696-1763), who had been elected to the throne did Marie Leszczyńska, daughter of a deposed king, of Poland. The deposed king thus abandoned Poland end up marrying Louis XV on 5 September 1725, in the for good and received, as compensation, the duchies of Chapelle de la Trinité at Fontainebleau Palace. She was Lorraine and Bar. This is how he ended up settling in twenty-two – seven years her new husband's senior. Nancy in 1738, in the Palace of Lunéville.

Louis XV (1710-1774), King of France Throughout her reign, Marie Leszczyńska abided by Artist unknown, XVIIIth century the ceremonial rules, endeavouring always to lead an Around 1728 Oil on canvas exemplary life, free of any scandal. In her private life, she Versailles, Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon lived simply with her family and a circle of close friends, © RMN-GP (Palace of Versailles) / who shared her interests. She spent several hours a day Gérard Blot in her private apartment meditating, praying, working on her needlepoint or painting. According to Madame The King, with his long hair Campan, who knew her in her youth, Marie Leszczyńska falling in curls around his “had an elegant spirit”. shoulders, is wearing the collar of the Order of the Marie Leszczyńska spent 42 years as the Palace of Holy Spirit. Swathed in an Versailles, which makes her longest-serving sovereign of ermine-lined cloak with the court of Versailles. a fleur-de-lys pattern, he is standing on a podium, next to a table on which are gathered symbols of his power: Charlemagne’s Curation Gwenola Firmin, Head Curator at the Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Hand of Justice, and sceptre. The large red and Trianon gold curtain, together with the grandiose architectural Marie-Laure de Rochebrune, Head Curator at the Musée National des Châteaux de décor, set the scene in a palatial interior. At the time this Versailles et de Trianon portrait was painted, Louis XV was totally smitten with Assisted by Vincent Bastien Doctor of Art History Marie Leszczyńska, who had already given birth to three for France.

40 The queen's Artistic Preferences chapter II room 2

Marie Leszczyńska (1703- Throughout her reign, Marie Leszczyńska expressed 1768), Queen of France, and the Dauphin Louis Ferdinand her own personal taste, whether in terms of the layout (1729-1765) of her official and private apartments, or the many Alexis-Simon Belle (1674-1734) Around 1730, commissions she gave directly to artists. The Queen Oil on canvas liked to surround herself with works of art, particularly Versailles, Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de portraits of her family. works on display Trianon © Palace of Versailles, Dist. RMN / The most talented painters, such as Alexis-Simon Belle, Christophe Fouin Jean-Marc Nattier and Pierre Gobert, were therefore called upon to produce portraits of the ten royal On 4 September 1729, children, born between 1727 and 1737. Marie Leszczyńska – already mother As for the layout of the Palace, from 1725 she set about to three girls – gave redesigning her chamber in the style of the time: birth to the much wood panelling carved by Vassé was installed over the hoped-for dauphin, fireplace, which was replaced by one in Sarrancolin thus ensuring the continuation of the line. The birth marble. The décor between the windows was created was also celebrated by the people. The following year, by the master sculptors Verberckt, Dugoulon and Le Alexis-Simon Belle was commissioned to create an effigy Goupil. The overdoor panels, which are still in place of the heir to the throne. The work was placed in the today, were commissioned by the Queen in 1734 from Queen’s Bath Chambers on 2 December 1730. So happy Jean-François de Troy – whose La Gloire des was the Queen with this work that she asked the artist to s’empare des Enfants de France, features the Dauphin incorporate the design into a larger ceremonial portrait and his two eldest sisters – and Charles-Joseph Natoire, depicting her with the child. who painted La Jeunesse et la Vertu Présentent les Deux princesses de la France. In 1735, Gilbert de Sève's The very young Louis is holding his mother’s hand. The painting on the ceiling of Apollon au Milieu des Heures Queen is wearing a highly elaborate dress studded with was replaced by a geometric design adorned with diamonds that complements the egret feather set with intertwined figures of the royal couple. At the same brilliant stones that adorns her hair. time, the managers of the King’s buildings, on the order of Louis XV, asked François Boucher to decorate the arches with four grisaille paintings representing the Virtues: Prudence, Piety, Charity, Generosity. But Marie Leszczyńska had to wait another 13 years, until 1764, before the tarnished gilt was restored under the supervision of François Vernet.

At the Palace of Versailles, where her life was governed by etiquette, Marie Leszczyńska liked to live a simple life, even if only for a few hours a day. Every afternoon, she withdrew to her private apartment to read, meditate and spend time with those closest to her. She was therefore heavily involved in arranging the areas located at the back of her State Apartments. She was the first to occupy them and to oversee their layout.

41 room 3 works on display

Marie Louise Thérèse Victoire de France (1733-1799), known as Madame Victoire, Sophie Philippine Élisabeth Justine de France (1734-1782), known as Madame Sophie, Louise Marie de France (1737-1787), known as Madame Louise Chocolate pot on a spirit-lamp stand, sugar tongs, sugar caddy, cup and saucer from Jean-Marc Nattier (1685-1766) the set presented to Queen Marie Leszczyńska to mark the birth of the Dauphin 1748, Oil on canvas Henri-Nicolas Cousinet (?-around 1768) Versailles, Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon Paris, 1729-1730 © RMN-Grand Palais (Palace of Versailles) / Gérard Blot Vermeil, Japanese Kakiemon porcelain Paris, Louvre Museum. Gift of the Société des amis du Louvre with the support of Stavros In 1738, Cardinal Fleury, the first minister in charge S. Niarchos, 1955. © RMN-Grand Palais (Louvre Museum) / Jean-Gilles Berizzi of the kingdom’s finances, decided that several of the royal couple’s children should leave Versailles. Stored in a gold-inlaid chest, this travel tea and hot- Consequently, Mesdames Sophie, Felicity and Louise, chocolate set was most likely a gift from Louis XV to aged five, four and two, respectively, were sent to Marie Leszczyńska to mark the birth of the Dauphin. Fontevrault Abbey. Madame Felicity died there in 1744 without seeing her parents again. The set includes Chinese and Japanese porcelain pieces, as well as several silver-gilt pieces, stamped with the In 1747, on the order of Louis XV, the King’s Director hallmark of the silversmith Cousinet, declared a master of Buildings, Lenormant de Tournehem, sent the artist in 1724. Sitting on a spirit-lamp stand, the spout of the Nattier to Fontevrault. He subsequently delivered his gilded silver (vermeil) chocolate pot comprises the head portraits of the princesses in March 1748. These gifts of a chimera upon reeds. A tiny bouquet of flowers from the King delighted the Queen, who had not seen forms the pivoting knob on the lid. The separate stand her daughters since their departure. The three works is formed from three curved dolphins resting on their were thus displayed in the Queen’s private apartment. chins, with their tails supporting the round plate on which the pot sits. Each dolphin appears to be emerging Marie Louise Thérèse Victoire de France (1733-1799), from a tuft of reeds, intertwined around which are known as Madame Victoire, was born at Versailles in garlands of flowers, which complete the decoration. 1733 and was the fifth of the royal couple’s daughters. She had lived at Fontrevrault for ten years when she The round sugar caddy of Japanese Kakiemon porcelain posed for Nattier’s painting. In it, Madame Victoire is is particulary special because of its gilded-bronze knob wearing a dress embroidered in silver, with a yellow in the form of carved shells. It is a perfect example silk scarf across her chest. Considered the prettiest of the type of item produced by the Parisian trader- of Louis XV’s daughters, she never married and haberdashers, who liked to combine different materials lived at Court, and at the Palace of Bellevue, up to and were responsible for some of the most refined the Revolution, whereupon she emigrated. Madame creations of the 18th century. Victoire died in Trieste in 1799. The set was in Marie Leszczyńska’s main chamber in Madame Sophie is wearing a white dress with gold Versailles at the time of her death, in 1768. The whole embroidery and is gracefully holding up a light veil chamber was willed to the Countess of Noailles, Duchess pinned to her hair. A garland of flowers trails across of Mouchy, one of the Queen’s -in-waiting. The her bust. She spent twelve years at Fontevrault. precious set became part of the collection of the Louvre Museum in 1958. Madame Louise was ten years old when Jean-Marc Nattier preserved her for posterity. Like her two sisters, she is depicted with a floral theme. The princess is holding a basket of flowers in one hand and a carnation in the other. Her portrait really moved the Queen. Madame Louise did not return to Versailles until 1750, after 12 years apart from her parents.

42 The Layout of the queen's Chambers chapter II room 3

From 1726 to 1730, Marie Leszczyńska devoted works on display herself to rearranging her private apartments. More comfortable than the ceremonial apartment, these comprised an oratory, a Green Gallery, a Bath Chamber, a Rest Chamber and a Poets’ Chamber, described as an “extremely small space where the Queen collected a lot of poetry […]” (Luynes, Mémoires). In addition, myriad terraces and balconies, adorned with garlands of flowers, lead sculptures and a rockery, were arranged around ’s courtyard.

A second round of redecoration was undertaken in 1747-1748. This is when the oratory was moved to the reverse side of the interior chamber (the existing Bath Chamber), looking out on to Monseigneur’s courtyard. In its place, a chamber of irregular walls (the future Méridienne Chamber) was created, with panelling by Verberckt. The Green Gallery became the Laboratory, or Chinese Chamber, which was decorated originally with Chinese paper screens, as was the fashion at the The Five Senses time, then later, in 1761, with paintings. The Queen A woman milking a cow (Touch), A shepherd playing a musette (Hearing), A woman looking at a magic lantern (Sight), A fishermen’s lunch (Taste), A young flowergirl (Smell) spent many hours here, playing an instrument, drawing, Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755) 1749, Oil on canvas painting or using her printing press. Versailles, Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon. © RMN-GP (Palace of Versailles) / Franck Raux Several devotional paintings are distributed throughout these rooms – in the oratory, certainly, but also in the The Five Senses series was commissioned from Jean- “chamber of angles and niches” and in the dressing Baptiste Oudry for the Queen’s private apartment – a room. All the pictorial genres are represented: in the narrow, windowless space that served as a passageway Bath chamber, where the sculpture is by Rousseau, there between the Queen’s interior chamber and the King’s are two works by Natoire: a Pastoral Concert and A dining room, known as the “Royal Table”. The works, Shepherdess and her Companion. In the Queen’s private which were delivered in 1749, are encased in woodwork chamber, the portraits of Madame Henriette as Flora above a shallow panel. and Madame Adélaïde as Diana hang above the double doors. Each of the paintings, which were originally curved at the top, depicts a rural idyll, a sort of innocent Arcadia, In this apartment, only the Boudoir was left alone as the setting for a charming pastoral scene. The Ile-de- during the alterations made under Louis XVI. Marie France countryside was the inspiration for the canvases, Leszczyńska’s chambers paved the way for those of but so, too, were the pastoral paintings of 17th-century Marie-Antoinette, which are the ones we know today. Italy and the Northern Schools.

In Touch, two women are milking a cow, while a peasant pulls a donkey along by the bridle, threatening it with a stick. Hearing is represented by a musette-player and two villagers dancing to the sound. A magic lantern symbolises Sight. A female villager, holding a child by the hand, looks at the cabinet of illusions, while another pays for her turn. Taste is illustrated in the form of preparations for a lunch of fish and wine, while Picking Flowers evokes Smell.

43 room 4

Rococo vase decorated with figuratively painted pink ribbons and bouquets of flowers Royal Sèvres porcelain manufactory 1757-1758, soft-paste porcelain Versailles, Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon © Palace of Versailles, Dist. RMN / © Christophe works on display Fouin

This extremely rare Rococo vase, recently acquired for the Palace of Versailles collections, originally came with a companion piece, which no longer exists. They were A farm, after Jean-Baptiste Oudry Marie Leszczyńska (1703-1768) purchased by Louis XV in 1753, Oil on canvas Versailles, Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon December 1758 during the first © RMN-GP (Palace of Versailles) / © Gérard Blot annual sale by the Royal Sèvres porcelain manufactory to take place at Versailles. This exhibition-sale, which Here, Marie Leszczyńska has copied a painting by Jean- was initiated under the reign of Louis XV and continued Baptiste Oudry, one of her favourite artists. The original up to the end of the Ancien Régime, enabled the work had been commissioned from the painter by the Manufactory to come and present its latest creations. Dauphin, Louis Ferdinand. The canvas was given its The King’s Inner Apartments were opened up to all just current title in the 19th century; in the 18th century, it for this occasion. was called Agriculture or France. It portrays a natural idyll, bountiful and cultivated, in accordance with the This baluster vase sits on a poly-lobed base decorated principles of the moral circle to which the Dauphin with shells in relief in a Rococo style that is maintained belonged. Most likely, the Queen produced this painting and further emphasised in the gilding of the outer with the help of Étienne Jeaurat, painter of the King’s rims. The bulge of the vase is skilfully adorned with State Apartments. He actually supervised the Queen's pink ribbons edged with a thin rim of gold, knotted painting over a period of fifteen years. together in places and artfully arranged over various levels in ever-decreasing sizes. In among the ribbons are Having dated and signed the painting in 1753, Marie figuratively painted bouquets of flowers, also of ever- Leszczyńska presented it to Louis XV as a New Year's gift decreasing size. The vase narrows considerably in the in 1754. The monarch subsequently hung it in the private upper section into two ear-shaped handles. Bouquets of room next to his bedroom. flowers, very skilfully painted in gold, can be seen on the inside of the vase.

During the Versailles sale of December 1758, several members of the bought pieces with a pink background. This example, created by Sèvres the previous year, was the major novelty of the event.

This vase and its companion piece were most likely gifted by Louis XV to the Queen, perhaps for New Year. Indeed, the inventory drawn up after Marie Leszczyńska’s death in June 1768 mentions, in relation to the Queen’s chambers at Versailles, “two urns in a mosaic pattern, pink colour, French porcelain” – a description that corresponds to the features of the Rococo vase. This item throws new light on the Queen’s collection of Sèvres porcelain, little about which is known even today.

44 The queen's Fondness for Chinese Style chapter II room 4 Marie Leszczyńska had a particular affinity with China. In 1747, she created an oriental chamber in her Laboratory, in the heart of her Inner Apartment. In 1761, she decided to replace it with a collection of canvases known as the Chinese Chamber. The paintings were

produced by five painters of the King’s State Apartments works on display – Coqueret, Frédou, de la Roche, Prévost and Jeaurat – as well as Marie Leszczyńska herself.

They portray a picturesque image of China, inspired by the tales of travellers to the land of Cathay. The tea ceremony, evangelisation of the Chinese by the Jesuits and a fair in Nankin are among the events depicted. Chinese architecture, dress and landscapes are portrayed in minute detail, while the bird’s-eye perspective is taken directly from Chinese painting.

The sovereign died on 24 June 1768. In her will, she left the Chamber to her -in-waiting, the Comtesse de Noailles, beseeching her to keep the paintings “for her own pleasure”. Other adornments in this small room included porcelain from Saxony and the Far East, as well as lacquered objects, some of which were purchased in Paris from the boutique of the specialist art retailer Lazare Duvaux.

Accepting a legacy incurred significant expense, which is why the Noailles also asked for the wood carvings and mirrors from the room, as compensation. As she had also received its furniture, the lady-in-waiting was able to reconstruct the Chamber in its original format. To accommodate it, a pavilion was constructed in the garden of the Noailles-Mouchy home in Paris. In the 19th century, the paintings went from the capital to the Noailles’ palace in the Oise region. The Chinese Chamber remained in the Noailles family down through the years until it was acquired by the Palace of Versailles in 2018.

Chinese Chamber paintings Marie Leszczyńska (1703-1768), Henri-Philippe-Bon Coqueret (1735-1807), Jean-Martial Frédou (1710-1795), Jean-Philippe de La Roche (around 1710-1767), Jean-Louis Prévost (active between 1740 and 1762), under the direction of Étienne Jeaurat (1699-1789) 1761, Oil on canvas Versailles, Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon © Palace of Versailles, Dist. RMN / Christophe Fouin

45 room 5

The queen's Circle

At Versailles, Marie Leszczyńska built up a social group consisting of a circle of loyal and close friends, works on display including the Duke and Duchess of Luynes. It is thanks to them that the Queen was able to bear the burden of life at Court, discussing ideas over meals in her private apartments with them, followed by games contests. These benign and familiar souls included writers, philosophers, ministers, such as Maurepas, but also Paradis de Moncrif, the Queen’s reader.

Charles Jean-François Hénault was another important figure in the Queen’s life. From the same generation as Marie Leszczyńska’s parents, he came from a Items from the set presented to Queen Marie Leszczyńska in 1737 by Augustus III (1696-1763), King of Poland and Elector of Saxony powerful Parisian family. In his youth, he was a Meissen porcelain manufactory, Saxony 1737, hard-paste porcelain magistrate and president of the first chamber of Versailles, Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon the Parliament of Paris. Consequently, this regular © Palace of Versailles, Dist. RMN / Christophe Fouin correspondent of Voltaire called himself “Président Hénault”. In 1753, he was made superintendent of the In December 1737, Maurice, of Saxony (1696- Queen’s House. Marie Leszczyńska had a particularly 1750), presented Marie Leszczyńska with a fabulous strong connection with him; indeed, he was her porcelain tea and chocolate service. The gift was on principal advisor and manager. behalf of Frederick Augustus II (1696-1763), Elector of Saxony since the death of his father in 1733 and who Towards the end of his life, Président Hénault wrote became King of Poland, ruling under the name of his Memoirs. Published posthumously, they provide Augustus III. By presenting this gift, he sought to ease a rare, first-hand account of life at Court under Louis the diplomatic tensions fomented by the Polish war of XV. For example, he wrote: “Marie Leszczyńska, succession and to put the Polish throne beyond the claim daughter of Stanislas, King of Poland was […] one of Stanislas Leszczyński for once and for all. of the greatest queens to have reigned since the White queen […] and, by her own good example, she This highly important set originally comprised fifty- turned a dissolute court into one devoted to religious six pieces, all bearing the coats of arms of France and observance, without detracting from its gaiety or Poland, topped with a crown, and lavishly decorated majesty.” with miniature paintings and rich golden accents. As of 2014, Versailles had acquired thirteen pieces of this gift, which was split up during the Revolution. They Charles Jean-François Hénault, President of the Parliament of Paris (1685-1770) demonstrate the quality and luxury of the porcelain Jean Jacques Caffieri (1725-1792) items that were sent to various European princes and 1768 Terracotta on a footed pedestal of black marble nobles by the court of Saxony. They also give a flavour of Versailles, Musée National des Châteaux de the diplomatic, political and economic wrangling going Versailles et de Trianon © Palace of Versailles, Dist. RMN / Christophe on behind the manufacture of this Saxon white gold and Fouin its distribution as gifts.

France, for its part, followed the Saxon example from 1758, when Louis XV decided that the output of the Royal Sèvres porcelain manufactory could be used as diplomatic gifts from the French court. In fact, he made it a significant diplomatic weapon.

46 The queen's Devotion chapter II room 5

The Death of Saint Francis Xavier Marie Leszczyńska had been pious since her childhood Charles-Antoine Coypel (1694-1752) and her life was punctuated by acts of devotion. 1749, Oil on canvas Versailles, Musée National des Châteaux de She attended mass twice and confession once every day. Versailles et de Trianon © Palace of Versailles, Dist. RMN / She also spent a good deal of time worshipping relics and Christophe Fouin reading pious texts. On Holy Thursday, she took part

in the ceremony of the Last Supper. For this occasion, works on display the Queen’s Guard Room in her State Apartments was Produced in 1749, this canvas converted into a chapel, where, after listening to the was in addition to two other sermon and receiving benediction, the sovereign washed paintings delivered by the the feet of twelve young girls, each of whom received a same artist in 1747: Saint purse and a meal. Landrada Instructing the Young People under her Her religious practice also extended to her desire to Guidance and Saint Piama relieve suffering. She supported hospices, clinics and Taken with her Mother charitable foundations, visited Saint-Cyr regularly and from a Village in Upper Egypt. The work, which was had a particular interest in the Carmelites of Compiègne. commissioned by the Dauphin, who shared his mother’s In addition, she helped the parish priest of Saint-Sulpice appreciation of the work of Charles-Antoine Coypel, was set up the Maison de l’Enfant-Jésus to house poor young installed in Marie Josepha of Saxony’s oratory, behind girls and provide work for women. She also supported her bedchamber. the work of the girls of Saint Vincent de Paul and the new devotion to the Sacré-Coeur de Jésus by establishing After a spell in India, Francis-Xavier – co-founder, along an order of the latter in the parish of Notre- in with Ignatius Loyola and five others, of the Society of Versailles. Jesus – turned his attention to China, but he died in 1552 on Sangchuan Island, off the coast of Guangdong, before Finally, she set up, not far from the Palace, the Queen’s reaching mainland China and without having had the convent (now the Hoche school). A community of time to evangelise the country. Charles-Antoine Coypel’s regular canonesses of St. Augustine moved into it in depiction of the missionary’s death is particularly 1773, four years after Marie Leszczyńska’s death. appropriate for a private devotional painting. Everything is designed to spark emotion: amid heavy tones, a Several of the paintings she commissioned and the crucifix in his hands, the Jesuit draws his last breath, numerous relics she possessed are proof of her strong surrounded by angels. attachment to the early Christian martyrs, and to Saint Francis Xavier, at a time when Jesuits were being expelled from France. Her vast library comprised many devotional books, including inspirational texts.

47 Marie Leszczynska and her "Greek" Taste chapter II room 6

During the last 15 years of Marie Leszczyńska’s reign, a new artistic trend emerged in France, known from the 18th century as “à la grecque”, or “in the Greek style”. The trend marked the onset of the neoclassical movement and rejected the outmoded Rococo style in

favour of a deliberate return to the simplicity of classical works on display antiquity and a more decorative repertoire of subjects drawn from Greek art.

A vase with swans and two “water-jet” vases Royal Sèvres porcelain manufactory The Queen participated in this movement in her 1765-1766, Soft-paste porcelain own way. For example, in 1753, she commissioned an Paris, Louvre Museum, Objets d’Art Department overdoor panel for her chamber, depicting The Arrival of © Louvre Museum, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Martine Beck-Coppola Saint Francis Xavier in China, from Joseph Marie Vien (1716-1809), who would go on to become the leading These three highly architectural vases were produced exponent of this style, in terms of painting. at the Sèvres manufactory under the direction of Étienne-Maurice Falconet. The “water-jet” vases and Later, in 1766, Marie Leszczyńska summoned Richard the vase “with swans” shaped around a truncated Mique (1728-1794) to Versailles from Lorraine, where, column, a common feature of the “Greek” style, are in Nancy, he fulfilled the role of First Architect to her excellent examples of this return to a repertoire with father, Stanislas Leszczyński († in 1766). She assigned resolutely classical ambitions. The vases rest on moulded to him a project that was particularly close to her heart: bases adorned with various decorative elements. A the construction, at Versailles, of a convent for the neoclassically-inspired fluted, truncated column canonesses of Saint Augustine, who provided education resembles the bowl of a fountain. On the vase in the for young girls (it is now the Hoche school). It was centre, the two swans with outstretched wings, like decided to lay the convent chapel out in the form of a the dolphins on the vases on either side, create myriad Greek cross within a square, accessed by an entrance oppositional colour effects: the “new blue”, the white of portal comprising an arcade of Ionic columns capped by the porcelain and the rich accents of gold. The unique a pediment. The chapel was completed after the Queen’s iconography of the dolphins on the “water-jet” vases death thanks to the determined efforts of her daughter, was developed in 1765, and could have been a homage to Madame Adelaide. the new Dauphin, the (the future Louis XVI), who assumed the title on the death of his father, in From the early 1760s, the new style was also adopted by December 1765. the Royal Sèvres porcelain manufactory for its service pieces, in addition to its vases and sculpted ornaments. This exceptional decorative item appears to match a Étienne-Maurice Falconet (1716-1791), head of the purchase made by Louis XV in 1766. sculpture studio from 1757 to 1766, produced many bisque figures and vases with a neoclassical look and These vases are displayed at the end of the exhibition. feel. They demonstrate how the Queen’s taste evolved with the times and artistic fashions.

48 canvas (1685-1766), 1748. Oil on Nattier . Jean-Marc Leszczyńska, France Queen of Marie Fouin RMN / Christophe Dist. Versailles, of © Palace

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 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

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