Versailles - Le Grand Trianon part 2

Lillian : We had a lovely time in the gardens with all the pretty tulips then went back inside the Grand Trianon building to see some of the rooms on the other side of the 'Peristyle' -  The Grand Apartment and the Round Room with it's marvelous floor ...

 

  

and a lovely chandelier ...

 
Audrey :  There were lots of lovely chandeliers - can you imagine how they would have twinkled with all the candles lit and flickering?
 

Lillian :  Even the way the chandeliers are hung from the ceilings is gorgeous ... 

 

Lillian :  This was The Music Room until Louis-Philippe converted into a billiard room.

Audrey :  Look where the billiard balls come out!

 

Audrey :  And there is a room with lots of things made of gorgeous green stone -

 

Lillian :  It is malachite, from Siberia.  The king of Russia, Tzar Alexander I gave Napoleon the malachite in 1808 and lots of lovely things were made from it.

Audrey : The Grand Trianon is quite Napoleonic - the official website calls this room The Emperor’s Topographical Study  -   "in 1810 Napoleon made this his map room". 
This is a lovely light-filled room with elegant furniture, green curtains and here is a close up of the lower part of a chandelier ...

 

 

 

 

Lillian :  We were intrigued by this wonderful folding set of steps - when closed it would look like a piano stool with a padded seat.  Quite ingenious!

Audrey : Talking about stools, remember all the stools lined up - they were pink with wonderful bobble fringing

Lillian :  And if you look closely (click on the photo to see it larger) that central medallion on the sides of the seats, it is a bee.  Napoleon Bonaparte took the bee as one of the symbols of his empire but there is some debate as to why

"The Bee Symbol of immortality and resurrection, the bee was chosen so as to link the new dynasty to the very origins of France."
or
Because an up-side-down fleur-de-lis looks like a bee ... 
or
Because bees are symbolic of industriousness. 
or
It was an adaptaiton of Charlemagne's bee.  
but
perhaps the ancient insects were not actually bees but cicadas or crickets or maybe even flies!

Audrey : Yuk - enough already!  Perhaps Napoleon liked honey - perhaps he ate too much honey and it gave him belly aches and that is why he was always holding a hand against his tummy ...







Lillian : This is The Cotelle Gallery - it is were the last of the Versailles peace treaties was signed - after WWI.

Audrey :  It is a lovely long room, with lots of paintings of the palace grounds and gardens as they were in 1687.  The gardeners try to make everything look as they did back then, when they were new.  Talking about gardens, we went out of the Grand Trianon to see the gardens behind the building ...














Lillian :  Quite formal with lots of statuary ...

 large urns with babies on top

Audrey : And busts of important people - this gentleman has a big head like a Blythe doll.

Lillian : We will leave this post with one last photo of those lovely tulips in Le Grand Trianon gardens.  Next post will be our last of Versailles.

Versailles - Le Grand Trianon part 1

Lillian :  The Grand Trianon is really pretty and elegant.

Audrey : It is all pastel pink and buttery yellow outside.

 

Lillian :  Yes, it is pink marble and porphyry and was built for Louis XIV in 1687 by Jules Hardouin Mansart, he was also the architect of the grand Les Invalides building in Paris.  You can read about the building of the Grand Trianon here on the Official Chateau de Versailles Site.

Audrey : I loved all the pretty basket/urns full of flowers.

Lillian :  Inside the furniture and decor mostly dates from the time of Napoleon - The First Empire. 

Mostly everything is very tasteful - though we weren't sure about the carpet in The Boudoir de l'Imperatrice (Napoleon's mother). 



Audrey : I think that even an Empress can take leopard print Too Far!  What is that frame thing for Lillian? 



Lillian :  It is for stretching a tapestry or embroidery on while you stitch it ... and that one is really large. 

Lillian :  This room is quite lovely - it is known as The Room of Mirrors. 

 


Audrey : Oh, I wonder why?

But look at those permanent flowers and up the top - one of those Fritillaries we saw in the Petite Trianon gardens.

Lillian :  Our stylist was very interested in all the curtain treatments - and all the very impressive trimmings. 

Lillian :  From the very pastel blue & pink of the Room of Mirrors you go to The Empress's Bedroom which has lots of red upholstery.

Audrey : Which Empress?

Lillian :  Empress Marie-Louise - the 2nd wife of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Audrey : Wasn't wife No: 1 Josephine?

Lillian :  Yes, Marie-Louise was Empress of France from 1811 to 1814 which wasn't very long but she furnished this room as it appears today except for that bed.



Audrey : The fire-places in the Grand Trianon were very impressive -

This red marble (I think it is red marble) fire-place is in The Chapel Room.

Lillian :  And this is in The Louis-Philippe Family Room


Audrey :  A large room all done in yellow with a circular pattern in blue.  Again fabulous curtains and tassels.


 









Lillian :  Back in The Chapel Room is this portrait of Marie Leszczinska - married to Louis XV she was also the daughter of Stanisław Leszczyński.  We will talk more about later when we show you all the photos from Nancy.

 

Audrey : I do like the sleeves of her dress and that very grand train though the young lad seems to be having quite a hard time keeping it clean and off the floor.  

Lillian :  It is blue with gold fleur-de-lis and lined with ermine -it indicates that this lady was French Royalty - the cupid in front is carrying her crown on a pillow.

Audrey : The Grand Trianon building is in 2 parts with a wonderful walk-way in the middle ...

Lillian :  It is called The Peristyle ...

Audrey : I wished that I had on a big silk dress like Marie Leszczinska's so I could parade up and down there.

Lillian : It is quite lovely, a very pretty indoors / outdoors link.  The Courtyard is over that side ...

 

and to the other side - the gorgeous gardens.

 

Audrey : Wonderful formal gardens with masses of tulips and some pointy trees ...

And all the tulips were pastel pink and white and buttery yellow - exactly, pweecisely the same colours as the building.

 

Lillian : So many tulips - and the plants must be really healthy as many had multiple blooms.

 

Audrey :  Almost TOO pwetty!

Versailles - somewhat random photos

Lillian : Here are more photos from our 2nd day at the Palace of Versailles - rather a random selection this time. 

Audrey :  Well that wasn't even in the Palace grounds!
Lillian :  No but surely only in Versailles would the little, roadside electricity substations (known as Kiosks in Australia) be painted so beautifully!  Wonderful Trompe-l'œil  with portraits of famous people such as Molière.

Audrey :  A very grand angel statue at the gates of the Palace -


and this is the Chapel, just as grand on the outside as it is on the inside!













Lillian :  On the 2nd day we didn't go through the main palace buildings but went straight through to the grounds.  If you watch the Sofia Coppola movie about Marie Antoinette you will see this massive stairway in a couple of scenes ...


 Audrey : It is huge!  Almost a "Stairway to Heaven" ....








we met a very friendly doggie there on the stairs

Lillian :   He was very friendly.  I liked these big baskets / urns of flowers at the end of the stairs.

Audrey :  It was spring so there were lots of real flowers too ...

Lillian :  The gardens are quite glorious ...

This lovely peaceful place is called The Queen's Grove.

Audrey : Lots of statues there - I think that this young hunter needs to hunt down some clothes. 

Lillian :  Many statues and paintings depict the human nude ... like this statue of an athlete, near that grove  ...

Audrey : Hmmm he does have nice muscles.

So does this gent teaching a lion how to do a dance...

 

Lillian : As you walk further from the main palace buildings, on the left-hand side, you come to The Mirror Lake - lovely, peaceful and so pretty with the trees in blossom.

Audrey :  Amazing amounts of pink cherry blossom!

The gardens must take a lot of looking after and it seems even the statues have to help with the gardening ... this gent has been planting tulips -







Lillian :  And all the topiary has to be maintained - these rather bizarre shapes are down the side of The Royal Walk which runs down the middle of the grounds.

Lillian :  There are also lots of statues - this is part of a set representing the Seasons and Winter is an old man who feels the cold even though he has a brazier. 

Audrey : That's a bit funny because our people have been to Versailles in the winter and the statues were all wrapped up in canvas to keep them warm.

Lillian : Well, this is all quite random - but let's return to the palace - which is quite encrusted with sculpture.  Lots of empty armour along the top and allegorical people just about everywhere!
There is a catalogue (in French) of all the statues here ... the entries for the musical lady on the left, La Poésie (figure originale) and the lady playing a lyre.


  

Audrey :  So many statues - this looks quite modern, I can't believe it was created in 1688! 

Le Rémouleur - The Grinder

Lillian :  Just behind the Palace are The Water Parterres - 2 really large pools which reflect the sunlight into the main palace building - including into the Hall of Mirrors.   At the corners there are large allegories of the major rivers in France -

La Seine

La Marne

La Garonne

La Dordogne - with fruit grown in the region

La Loire - with artichokes & asparagus

Audrey :  The gentleman from Loire also has a lobster and a dear little frog.

 

Lillian :  We can't work out which river this lady with her baby and toothy fish represent.  She is a little different to the other ladies -
Audrey : You mean that she goes to the gym and does lots of sit-ups?

Lillian :  Ahem - there are also groups of babies round the Water Parterres -

Beach-combing Babies

Babies with a Bird

Audrey : We saw lots of birds - with all the water about there are lots of ducks and some lovely swans.  This
sweet birdie is a White Wagtail - Latin name Motacilla alba. 

Lillian : Not related to the Australian Willy Wagtail - and rather larger.  In our next post we'll show our photos from the Grand Trianon.