resTOration OF THE Buffet d’eau Fountain GARDENS OF THE Grand Trianon

the Grand Trianon from Louis XIV to general de Gaulle

Mansart’s Architecture

located about one and a half kilometre from the Palace of Versailles, at the end of the northern arm of the Grand Canal, the Grand Trianon was built by Jules Hardouin-Mansart in 1687 on the location where the ‘Porcelain Trianon’ once stood, a place Louis XIV had built in 1670 to meet with his lover, Madame de Montespan. The Grand Trianon is probably the most refined set of buildings in the whole estate of Versailles. Mansart described it as ‘a small palace of pink marble and porphyry with delicious gardens’. Louis XIV was closely involved in the building project and Mansart respected his instructions to the letter. It is impossible not to succumb to the charm of this building whose elegant proportions give it an air of intimacy, peace and solemnity. This single-storey palace, set between courtyard and garden, is strongly influenced by Italian architecture, its flat roof hidden by a balustrade, formerly adorned with groups of children, vases and sculpted figures. Its buildings form a U-shape around the main courtyard. The north and south wings are symmetrically positioned on either side of the peristyle, the north wing being linked by the Cotelle Gallery to a wing that runs into the wood, hence bearing the name Trianon- sous-Bois (Trianon-under-Wood).

An intimate retreat

The Marble Trianon was a palace designed for intimacy, a place to rest where Louis XIV could withdraw in selected company. With shows, ballets, operas, dinners and games, one went to Trianon to get away from the constraints imposed by the demanding etiquette of Versailles. Louis XIV used it to accommodate his sister-in-law Princess Palatine, his brother Monsieur, Duke of Orleans, his son the Duke of Chartres and his daughter, the Duchess of Bourbon. Under Louis XV, it was Marie Leszczyńska that was very fond of the Grand Trianon and stayed there in the summer. In the last decade of the monarchy, Marie-Antoinette gave a few performances there but preferred to stay at the Petit Trianon given to her by Louis XVI. When the Revolution came about, the Grand Trianon was unfortunately stripped of its furniture just like the Palace.

Jean-Baptiste Martin, Louis XV as a child riding in view of the Grand Trianon Palace, 1724 Palace of flora

Renowned for its ordered, geometric French formal gardens, ‘full of all sorts of orange blossoms and green shrubs’, as Félibien tells us, the ‘Marble Trianon’ was surrounded, as soon as it was built, by several tens of thousands of perennial and tuberous plants. Set in pots so they could be changed every day to create a floral, fragrant display, the plants provided a living decor that complemented the flawless architecture fully open onto the gardens. The three fountains of the upper and lower parterres, as well as the one at the far end of Trianon-sous-Bois and the Buffet d’Eau Fountain, built of pink marble similar to the pilasters of the building, completed the perfect harmony between the Palace and its environment.

From the Revolution to today

The collections were broken up during the Revolution. In 1804 the Grand Trianon became an imperial palace. Napoleon gave it back its lustre and completely refurnished it for his marriage to the Empress Marie-Louise. The Palace was occupied for the last time by King Louis-Philippe who had all his family living there, modifying the building somewhat to make it more comfortable. Having become a museum filled with a motley collection of objects at the end of the 19th century, the Grand Trianon only recovered its historical furnishings and thus former splendour in the 20th century. The establishment of the French Fifth Republic marked a major turning point for the Palace, as from then on it was transformed into a presidential residence designed to welcome visiting heads of state.

View of the Grand Trianon from the gardens ©EPV / Didier Saulnier the BUFFET D’EAU fountain

The main fountain in the Trianon gardens is the monumental buffet d’eau Fountain, which lies at the far end of one of the garden’s lateral perspectives.

This majestic composition, very different to those of the groves in Versailles, was the work of Jules Hardouin-Mansart. It was built in 1702 then modified and adapted on several occasions in response to very precise instructions from Louis XIV. The result can almost ESTATE OF TrIANON be considered a collaborative work by the king and his architect.

It rises in three tiers of different colours of marble, creating grand trianon park a contrast between the darker shades of the walls (red Languedoc and royal Campan) and the white Carrera marble of the basins and ornaments. Particularly refined figures in lead, formerly gilded, buffet d’eau complete the ensemble, with Neptune and Amphitrite flanked fountain by two lions at the top, four young tritons frolicking beneath the basins, various bas-reliefs of marine divinities and garlands.

Under Louis XIV, a multitude of water features used to english garden bring the fountain to life. Designed as a waterfall, each of its tiers produced sheets of water falling into a series of white marble basins. Vertical water jets and bubbling effects seemed to emerge from the basins adorning each tier, defining the vertical lines of the majestic composition. Oblique streams gushed out of four masks representing the winds (Boreas, Eurus, Auster, Zephyrus) and decorating the wall of the lower level. All of these features and the resulting shimmering water further enhanced the polychrome nature of the marbles.

General view of the Buffet d’Eau Fountain

Map of the National Estate of Versailles showing the location of the Estate of Trianon grand trianon park

buffet d’eau fountain

grand trianon Charles Chatelain, Louis XIV on a promenade at the Grand Trianon, 1713, National Museum of the Palaces of Versailles and Trianon

« 7° May 1702 Aerial view of the Grand Trianon and its gardens His Majesty ordered the removal of the tablets of white marble that had been placed in the compartments of the waterfall and to replace them with tablets of violet Breche, making less of a contrast. The same day His Majesty ordered the removal of the two lead and pewter dragons made to be placed on the two pedestals next to the upper sheet of said waterfall and to put two lions in their place.

grand trianon 20° May 1702 His Majesty ordered to make, on the square tablet of violet Breche NOrTHErN ArM OF that had been placed in the compartments of the Trianon Waterfall, THE grand canal a small lead and pewter bas-relief representing a water subject and, on the three circles of violet Breche in the compartments, some aquatic animals made of the same material.

23° June 1702 His Majesty ordered the removal of the lead and pewter monster that had been placed between the two figures at the top of the Trianon waterfall, on the grounds that it was too bold for the rest and make in its place a very light urn which should appear as if being tipped by one buffet d’eau of the figures. The same day His Majesty ordered all the figures and fountain Flat-bottom FOUNTAIN ornaments in lead on the said waterfall to be gilded. »

Register of Louis XIV’s orders to Mansart, from 1699 to 1702, Paris, National Archives, O1/1809 Restoration is now essential

The buffet d’eau Fountain, last restored in 1892, is now showing various types of damage and many very visible signs of deterioration: instability and alteration of the marbles, missing pieces and deformation among the decoration and sculpted lead Splitting of the red figures, malfunctioning of the fountain system, sealing issues, etc. Languedoc marble cladding In addition, the structural masonry requires verification and repair panels due to corrosion of after being weakened by water infiltration. the metal fixing staples and deformation due to a distortion of the panels

The complete and thorough assessment of the fountain’s restoration needs and solutions was carried out in 2011. Therefore, an intervention could be implemented relatively quickly. Work will concern the overall restoration of the composition (all the elements will be removed and reassembled after restoration), reinstatement of the fountain system, complete restoration of the sealing and renovation of the fountain’s surroundings (benches, soils, trellises).

The total cost of the work is estimated at €2,000,000.

Vertical and horizontal cement joints gaping The restoration will take 24 months (6 months for the technical between marble cladding file and the tender process, 18 months to carry out the work).

View of the Buffet d’Eau Fountain from the Trianon-sous-Bois perspective

Fractures in one of the red Campan basins and grafting of sculpted volutes on the white Carrera marble tripod Patronage benefits

What if You too, became a patron of the Versailles and Trianon gardens? Corporate communication Admission Tickets and ‘a year in Versailles’ cards - The patron can benefit from free admission tickets to the Palace and Estate during public The patron can benefit from free admission Tax benefit PUBLIC RELATIONS IN THE opening times for all the company’s staff in tickets to the Palace and Estate during public PRESTIGIOUS SETTING OF THE France and abroad. opening times and/or ‘A year in Versailles’ cards In accordance with the provisions of the French ESTATE OF VERSAILLES - Site visits may be organised for the company’s granting unlimited access to the Palace and Law of 1 August 2003 on patronage, companies (From under 10 to more than 1,000 people) staff in the presence of those involved in the Estate of Versailles at public opening times and paying, in full or in part, their taxes in France restoration (architects, restorers, curators, etc.) for a period of one year, or more. are eligible for a corporate tax relief equal to 60% Spaces can be made available for free within - Conferences about the project may be of the amount of their donation, not exceeding the Palace and Estate of Versailles (Gallery of organised at the company’s headquarters. 0.5% of their pre-tax turnover. If this limit is Great Battles, Hercules Room, Grand Trianon - Spaces at the Palace can be made available to Why not use your benefits for exceeded, the surplus may be carried over to the Gallery, Orangery, Royal Opera House, etc.) host seminars, corporate meetings, assemblies, a worthy cause? following five fiscal years. to host prestigious public relations events and etc. private tours, outside public opening times. The patron company has the opportunity to organise, as part of its benefits, one or more ‘great Patron’ Title awarded by events specifically aimed at the public said to be the Ministry of Culture Custom visits to the Palace alienated from museums. and Estate of Versailles If recommended by the Public Institution of the Palace, Museum and national Estate During or outside opening hours of the Palace of Versailles, the Ministry of Culture and and Estate of Versailles. Communication may, where appropriate, award the patron company the title of ‘Great Patron of Official inauguration the Ministry of Culture’. This title can be used in all the company’s corporate communication The patron company will be associated with the (French Decree n°2005-1136 of 7 September official inauguration to be held on completion 2005 and Order of 16 March 2006). of the works.

Acknowledgement External communication

- On the list of donors to the Palace of Versailles, Association with promotional activities carried engraved in the Statue Gallery in the North out by the Palace of Versailles targeting the Wing of the Palace. press and the general public: - On panels around the worksite throughout - organisation of press conferences; the duration of the works, and on a plaque - joint production of a press kit; placed near the fountain once the restoration is - press visits throughout the duration of the completed. works. Patronage and international relations officer [email protected] Tel. :+33130837193 Marion HUGUES Head of Patronage and International Relations Department [email protected] EN.CHATEAUVERSAILLES.FR Tel. :+33130837704 Serena GAVAZZI contact [email protected] Mélinée AUDIARD Tel. :+33130837770 Patronage officer

© Christian Milet/ ©Sagory