Monday, February 1, 2010

Petit Trianon: antechamber

I thought I would begin the tour of Marie Antoinette's personal rooms with her monogram. This metalwork of her initials are the doorknobs (modern) of the tour entrance to the Petit Trianon, where the gift shop is. You are then led through the service courtyard, along the rough stone corridor, through the guards chamber, up the grand staircase and arrive at the Antechamber or anteroom (follow all that without getting lost?).
This is a small room which seperates the 'public' grand stairhall from the dining room. The room continues the beautiful soft green seen in the billiards room but with more highly finished boiseries. As this building is done in the neoclassical style (and for me is the epitome of it), the boiseries are delicate: narrow stiles and rails with restrained ornamentation.
You see the room above off the grand stairhall in blue. The single window on the left faces the formal French Garden with the view culminating at the French Pavilion. The 2 windows on the bottom of the plan face the entry courtyard. The French garden was left in the more formal style put in place by Madame de Pompadour and Louis XV while the rest of the gardens were done in a more casual 'English' garden style favored at the time, as witnessed today when you visit. The room is lit by a traditional french lantern befitting the style. Under the lantern you see the top of the famous Portrait of MA, 'Marie Antoinette a la rose' by Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun.
The portrait was hurriedly comissioned in 1783 after the first portrait of Marie Antoinette by Lebrun created a scandal for the informal way in which she was depicted. So in this portrait, she is shown in high 'court' style in full makeup and satin gown.
The room has 2 beautiful white marble busts on columns flanking the window with the garden view, but unfortuantely I can't remember who they are!
The doors leading into the dining room have a more ornate boiserie and again, beautiful gilded bronze hardware. Imagine carving all of this by hand!

14 comments:

  1. Excellent post Stefan. I love how you began with the monogram hardware (the shape of which for some reason always makes me think of the other famous M -- Martha Stewart) and kept focusing on all the finely crafted intricate details.

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  2. Thanks, Courtney! It's been fun sharing the PT :-) I never even thought of martha stewart - she would have a great monogram as well! Maybe as the front doorknob to skylands -her Maine estate.

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  3. Love the monogram! I could use that for my front door!

    They did an incredible job on the restoration!

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  4. This is quite a great post. Those are some fancy escutcheons.

    yvonne

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  5. loved this tour with you as a guide; your architect's eye made all more interesting and detailed
    debra

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  6. I have been lucky to visit the petit trianon a number of years ago. Not many people would walk they long way to get there sadly . One of the guards told me its not visited much but.... maybe it is now after the movies etc. I do hope so.
    I felt it was a lovely relaxing place because of the colours.

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  7. Great! Really getting to feel my way through the building!

    Thanks

    Robert Webber

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  8. LJ, I think after the movie and recent renovation, it's had a lot of attention paid to it. There is now a tram that will take you out to the PT and the grand trianon. We were there on a particularly beautiful Sunday, so the crowds were incredible. It was hard to get these photos at the PT without a lot of visitors showing up in them!

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  9. Thanks for this amazing tour. I love the monogram the best!

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  10. so unbelievably gorgeous!!!!!! just beautiful!!!!!!!!!

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  11. I love the these posts on the The petite Trianon. Her personal quarters have always intrigued me more then anything at Versailles. When living in Paris I visited there often.

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  12. wonderful, but you know that already ;-)

    David

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