Marie Antoinette's refuge at Versailles reopens - Petit Trianon

Angela Doland,- Associated Press Writer - 9/24/2008

VERSAILLES, France — The Petit Trianon was Marie Antoinette's refuge, the mini-chateau where she escaped from queenly protocol and played at living a simpler life. Curators who oversaw its renovation have tried to recreate that intimate atmosphere.

The boxy neoclassical building on the grounds of the immense chateau at Versailles reopened Wednesday after a yearlong, $7.34 million renovation funded by Swiss watchmaker Breguet, which once made a timepiece for the queen. Among other improvements, electric wiring was fixed, more rooms opened to the public and a garden pavilion refurbished.

Curators said they wanted to avoid a stuffy museum feel, making it seem as though the 18th-century French queen and her entourage had just stepped away for a moment.

Instead of glass cases to hold period china, for example, curators had cupboards rebuilt in keeping with period plans. They restored servants' quarters, giving a clearer idea of how royalty and their help would have interacted.

Setting up house at the Petit Trianon, Marie Antoinette "could no longer stand the life of the court, the etiquette, the protocol, the lack of intimacy," said Pierre-Andre Lablaude, an architect who oversees Versailles. Here, "she lived a bit like a lady of the manor ... in a more relaxed life."

Take Marie Antoinette's bedroom, a sunny but surprisingly small and spare room decorated with white walls, dainty flower-print fabrics and some of its original furniture. It was a change from the chilly, heavily brocaded royal apartments at the main chateau.

Extravagant touches remained nonetheless: When Louis XVI presented his wife with the keys to the small chateau as a wedding gift, they came on a ribbon graced with 531 diamonds. And Marie Antoinette's bedroom was fitted with sliding mirrors that covered the windows when she wanted more privacy.

Though the Petit Trianon is closely associated with Marie Antoinette, it wasn't built for her. Louis XV had it constructed for his powerful mistress, Madame de Pompadour, but she died before it was completed in 1768.

Marie Antoinette had her eye on the property even before her husband took the throne, and she had it redecorated in her taste.

It was at the Petit Trianon that Marie Antoinette spent the fateful day of Oct. 5, 1789. She was strolling in the gardens, taking refuge from the rain in a small grotto, when servants came with bad news: Revolutionary rioters were at Versailles' gates.

The queen spent that night at the main chateau, leaving the next day for Paris. The royal family never returned to Versailles, and Marie Antoinette died at the guillotine at age 37 in 1793.

During the Revolution, the small chateau lost its silverware, linens and mirrors, while some of its metals were sent to the Mint. In the late 18th century and early 19th century, the building was a restaurant and a dance spot.

Before the newest renovation, visitors had been able to visit only limited parts of the chateau. Pierre Arizzoli-Clementel, Versailles' director general, described it as an "almost abandoned part of Versailles."

Since 2006, it has figured in a circuit of Marie Antoinette sites at Versailles, including a theater she had built and a rustic hamlet where she played at being a shepherdess. Tickets to the Marie Antoinette circuit are purchased separately from the Versailles ticket.

The Hall of Mirrors at Versailles

The sparkling renovation of the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles reveals age-old secrets

FranceGuide 2008 – Outside of Paris, the extensive restoration of the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles also brings the past as close to us in the present as possible.  

The Sun King’s Galerie des Glaces is once again a sparking chamber of history, spotlighting the military and domestic achievements of Louis XIV, as well as the architectural innovation of its 17^th century creators.  The reflection of the incredible gardens by Andre Le Notre through the 17 mirror-lined arcades and French windows looks as remarkable today as it did when the king brought his vision of this infinite space to line in 1683.

The 19€-million renovation was made possible by an innovative private-public partnership between the Etablissement Public de Versailles and the Vinci Group, whose subsidiaries handled all of the restoration tasks, from administrative to creative, with invaluable assistance from a scientific council composed of international experts in 17^th century art and architecture.

Of the 357 mirrors that give the hall its name, two-thirds have been cleaned and restored, while those damaged beyond repair have been replaced with antique substitutes.  The walls of polychrome marble have also been cleaned and polished to a reflective shine, and the elaborate stucco work of cherubs, eagles and garlands on the dramatic vaulted ceiling has been restored to its original luster.

In addition to the mirrors, the incredible ceiling canvases of First Painter to the King, Charles Le Brun, have been painstakingly hand-cleaned, a process that took more than 18 months to complete.  Over 40 restorers labored fulltime on Le Brun’s masterpiece, uncovering centuries of secrets in the process.  For example, workers discovered that the huge paintings gradually lighten from the Salon of War at the north end to the Salon of Peace at the other, a subtle depiction of the resolution of conflicts during the Sun King’s reign.  They also exposed the original colour of the skies, a rare lapis lazuli blue lost over the years to previous restoration attempts.

Similarly, the cartouches describing le Brun’s work had been effaced during the French Revolution and later covered with bronzine, which oxidized over the years, turning them a greenish colour.  All of these have been resorted to their smalt blue and gold, in keeping with the mission of returning the Hall of Mirrors to its original and authentic décor.  New gilding on the room’s decorative accents and even the highly polished hardware on the windows add to its renewed glow.

In the paintings themselves, restorers found several pentimenti, or figures that Le Brun drew but them either discarded or moved.  One particular fascinating example was an additional image of mercury, the messenger of the gods, who had originally been positioned off-centre in the huge double canvas but later, in the final painting, pushed to the center between the Sun King and his adversaries.

While the Hall of Mirrors did remain open during the renovation, visitors were not able to see the center panels of Le Brun’s mammoth ceiling mural, or take in the full luminous view of this dazzling and ornate chamber.  Today, audio guides in either languages, a tourist shuttle train throughout the estate and a dedicated handicapped-accessibility coordinator are ready to welcome people from around the world to the Chateau de Versailles and its sparkling Galerie des Glaces.

Day trips from Paris in the ile de France

Traveling to Paris does not mean that you are limited to the sites that are within the city limits. There are some very easy trips that you can do by bus or train that take a little over an hours travel time.

Louis XIV started Chateau de Versailles in 1668 and in 1682 the Royal Court and Government moved there to become a permanent resident. Court life at Versailles was to develop into the basis on which all European royal courts of the time were to be modeled. The rooms are opulently decorated and culminate in the Hall of Mirrors, a 70 m (233 ft) long hall, looking out over the gardens. The gardens are simply breathtaking. They were designed and built in celebration of the divine authority of Louis XIV and feature over 200 statues amongst the numerous fountains, ornate gardens and two out-palaces, the Grand Trainon and the Petit Trianon.

The town of Chartres, located south west of Paris, was one of the first urban conservation cities in France. As a result there are many 12th to 17th century half-timbered houses buildings and cobble stone roads run throughout the town. The greatest site though, is the Chartres Cathedral. The Cathedral at Chartres has been drawing pilgrims for over eight centuries the view the sacred relic Veil of the Virgin. The current Cathedral was built in only 25 years, when the original cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1194, and has a style and beauty that few others possess. The most notable characteristic of the Cathedral is the stain glass windows. Donated by guilds between 1210 and 1240 there are over 150 windows covering a surface area of over 3000 sq m (26,900 sq ft) and depict biblical stories and daily life of the 13th century. The light and colour the glass creates a sight that is truly inspiring. During both World Wars these windows were dismantled piece by piece for safety purposes and in the 1970’s underwent some restoration work. The result is a Gothic Cathedral of unspeakable glory.

Vimy Ridge is a 100 hectare national park dedicated to the First World War, Located north of Paris it saw constant actions for most of the war. The strategic ground was a ridgeline of14kms (8.5 miles) worth of high ground held by the Germans from the opening of the war until April 1917. It was a vital part of the German defense system along the entire front and its capture was a turning point for the Allied Forces in the First World War.
Much of the site has been left “insitu” with shell holes pock-marking the landscape from the artillery bombardments. On average there were 5 shells per square foot over the 14kms front. Sections of trench have been preserved as well as the numerous underground tunnels, used for bringing up supplies and as protection for the troops, so visitors can picture the enormity of the tasks facing the forces on both sides of the war.

The town of Epernay lies in the Champagne region of France north east of Paris. The production of the champagne blend was begun with Dom Perignon, a Benedictine monk (1638-1715) who wrote the rules for making wine in the region. The Core of his treatise is the blending of grapes before the pressing and the care of the bottles after they have been “corked”. The Ave de Champagne in Epernay is lined with 19th century mansions housing the headquarters and cellars of the prestigious Champagne houses. The most famous of the champagne producing wineries is Moet and Chandon. Established in 1743 they have set the benchmark for the production of champagne. You are able to visit the Champagne houses cellars, dug out of the chalk they stretch over 100km (62 miles) underneath Epernay, but the grapes do not come from a specific patch of ground but from 1600 different wine growers in the region so you cannot see the actual vines of the specific wineries.

Giverny is the small town north west of Paris where the impressionist painter Claude Monet made his home. At his home he created a large and colourful water garden, which became the subject of some of his best known works the Water-lily Pond and the Bridge series, Rose Garden series and of course the Water- Lilies, The gardens fell into some disrepair after his death in 1926, but have been restored to their original glory and his house has been turned into a museum which houses the Nympheas Water Lilies series.