Visitors to Versailles
Visitors to Versailles

Author: Daniëlle Kisluk-Grosheide

Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Published: 2018-04-16

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 1588396223

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What was it like to visit one of the most magnificent courts of Europe? Based on a wealth of contemporary documents and surviving works of art, this lavish book explores the experiences of those who swarmed the palace and grounds of Versailles when it was the seat of the French monarchy. Engaging essays describe methods of transportation, the elaborate codes of dress and etiquette, precious diplomatic gifts, royal audiences, and tours of the palace and gardens. Also presented are the many types of visitors and guests who eagerly made their way to this center of power and culture, including day-trippers and Grand Tourists, European diplomats, overseas ambassadors, incognito travelers, and Americans. Through paintings and portraits, furniture, costumes and uniforms, arms and armor, guidebooks, and other works of art, Visitors to Versailles illuminates what travelers encountered at court and what impressions, gifts, and souvenirs they took home with them. In bringing to life their experiences, this sumptuously illustrated volume reminds us why Versailles has enchanted generations of visitors from the ancien régime to the present day.

Versailles
Versailles

Author: Tony Spawforth

Publisher: Macmillan + ORM

Published: 2010-03-16

Total Pages: 407

ISBN-13: 1429928786

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The behind-the-scenes story of the world's most famous palace, painting a picture of the way its residents truly lived and examining the palace's legacy, from French history through today The story of Versailles is one of historical drama, under the last three kings of France's old regime, mixed with the high camp and glamour of the European courts, all in an iconic home for the French arts. The palace itself has been radically altered since 1789, and the court was long ago swept away. Versailles sets out to rediscover what is now a vanished world: a great center of power, seat of royal government, and, for thousands, a home both grand and squalid, bound by social codes almost incomprehensible to us today. Using eyewitness testimony as well as the latest historical research, Spawforth offers the first full account of Versailles in English in over thirty years. Blowing away the myths of Versailles, he analyses afresh the politics behind the Sun King's construction of the palace and shows how Versailles worked as the seat of a royal court. He probes the conventional picture of a "perpetual house party" of courtiers and gives full weight to the darker side: not just the mounting discomfort of the aging buildings but also the intrigue and status anxiety of its aristocrats. The book brings out clearly the fateful consequences for the French monarchy of its relocation to Versailles and also examines the changing place of Versailles in France's national identity since 1789. Many books have told the stories of the royals and artists living in Versailles, but this is the first to turn its focus on the palace itself---from architecture and politics to scandal and restoration.

Trianon and the Queen's Hamlet at Versailles
Trianon and the Queen's Hamlet at Versailles

Author: Jacques Moulin

Publisher: Rizzoli Publications

Published: 2019-11-12

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 2080204106

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Exceptional new photography brings readers behind the scenes of the Trianons and Marie Antoinette's Hamlet at Versailles--including areas usually closed to the public. Life in the Château de Versailles was dense with pomp and circumstance, and the royals often craved a quiet moment with friends and lovers far from the din of the court. Hidden away from the palace on the grounds nearby, the kings built the Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon, and the Queen's Hamlet, where they could slip away to entertain their inner circle. This book explores every aspect of life at these private outbuildings, from the furnishings and gardens to the history and inhabitants. In 1687, the sun king Louis XIV conceived of the Grand Trianon and its exceptional parterres and fountains as a seamless link between court and garden--a private retreat where he could withdraw with his family and escape the heavy hand of protocol. Louis XV commissioned the Petit Trianon, a neoclassical masterpiece with four unique facades, its famous menagerie, and botanical gardens. Louis XVI bestowed the Petit Trianon on Marie Antoinette; in her gardens and picturesque hamlet and farm, the queen's presence is more tangible here than anywhere else at Versailles. This handsome volume, with newly commissioned photography, is both a historical testimony and an intimate visit on the grounds of the palace of Versailles.

The Gardener of Versailles
The Gardener of Versailles

Author: Alain Baraton

Publisher: Rizzoli Publications

Published: 2014-02-11

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 0847842703

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An “eccentric and charming” love letter to Versailles Palace and its storied grounds, by the man who knows them best—for gardening lovers and Francophiles (New York Times) Tour Versailles’ 2,100 acres as its gardener-in-chief describes its fascinating history and his 40 years of living and working in the gardens. In Alain Baraton’s Versailles, every grove tells a story. As the gardener-in-chief, Baraton lives on its grounds, and since 1982 he has devoted his life to the gardens, orchards, and fields that were loved by France’s kings and queens as much as the palace itself. His memoir captures the essence of the connection between gardeners and the earth they tend, no matter how humble or grand. With the charm of a natural storyteller, Baraton weaves his own path as a gardener with the life of the Versailles grounds, and his role overseeing its team of 80 gardeners tending to 350,000 trees and 30 miles of walkways across 2,100 acres. He richly evokes this legendary place and the history it has witnessed but also its quieter side that he feels privileged to know: The same gardens that hosted the lavish lawn parties of Louis XIV and the momentous meeting between Marie Antoinette and the Cardinal de Rohan remain enchanted—private places where visitors try to get themselves locked in at night, lovers go looking for secluded hideaways, and elegant grandmothers secretly make cuttings to take back to their own gardens. A tremendous bestseller in France, The Gardener of Versailles gives an unprecedentedly intimate view of one of the grandest places on earth.

A Day at Versailles
A Day at Versailles

Author: Yves Carlier

Publisher: Flammarion-Pere Castor

Published: 2014-04

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13:

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The Chateau de Versailles is one of the most beautiful and fascinating achievements of eighteenth-century French art. This unique book offers readers unprecedented access to this historical treasure. The world's most iconic chateau has welcomed tourists the world over, yet this handsome slipcased volume offers up the charm of a thousand and one hidden places in the chateau, its gardens, and pavilions. All were designed to surprise and delight the eye and all the senses at every turn, their ornate decoration forming an integral part of the elite lifestyle of the eighteenth century. This comprehensive volume captures the exquisite setting and inimitable ambience of Versailles and its gardens, from its intimate private spaces usually closed to the general public to the charming Petit Trianon and dairy farm created for the pure pleasure of Marie-Antoinette.

Versailles
Versailles

Author: Colin Jones

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2018-11-20

Total Pages: 187

ISBN-13: 154167345X

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The vivid story of the creation, renovation, and enduring legacy of the most famous building in France: the palace of Versailles Nothing represents the glorious and fraught history of France quite like the Palace of Versailles. Made famous by the absolutist king Louis XIV, Versailles became legendary for the splendor of its revels -- but then, after the Revolution of 1789, it fell into disrepute as a reminder of royal excess and abuse of power. Subsequent French governments struggled with how to handle the opulent palace and grounds -- should the site be memorialized, trivialized, rehabilitated, or even destroyed outright? Drawing on a new wave of recent research, historian Colin Jones masterfully traces the evolution of Versailles as a space of royal politics and aristocratic pleasures, a building of mythic status, and one of the world's great tourist destinations. Accessible and compelling, this book is a must-read for all Francophiles.

Versailles
Versailles

Author: Catherine Pegard

Publisher: Thames & Hudson

Published: 2017-06-28

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9780500519868

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'The Ch�teau de Versailles is a real photographic challenge because it is so huge: there is an infinite number of possible points of view and they are never the same, depending on the time of day, the weather or the season... There are always new photos to take, to contemplate, to dream of. It is a demanding place that stimulates creativity and encourages you to look at it again and again' Thomas Garnier Versailles is one of the most photographed places in the world, but only four people have the privilege of being the Palace's official photographers. They have uniquely unfettered access to the secrets that lie within, outside and beneath this enormous domain where they spend their days - and sometimes their nights. Now, for the first time, they open their personal albums to offer a wealth of impressions and responses. Two hundred and fifty previously unpublished photographs reveal a plethora of outstanding artworks, the private apartments of Louis XIV, MarieAntoinette and Madame de Pompadour, magnificent galleries, the delightful Orangerie and more, all accompanied by texts that provide a lively introduction to daily life at the Ch�teau and its momentous history. This is a monumental volume on a scale that matches the grandeur of the worldrenowned Palace it celebrates.

The History and Haunting of the Palace of Versailles
The History and Haunting of the Palace of Versailles

Author: Rebecca F. Pittman

Publisher:

Published: 2021-06-13

Total Pages: 796

ISBN-13: 9780998369235

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It was a palace of the Kings of France; the creation of the Sun King, Louis XIV. The marvel of all Europe it soon became a gilded cage for the monarchs and the courtiers who lived there. The saga of Versailles is filled with intrigue, scandal, glory, and tragedy. It is here that the nobility of France manipulated and poisoned their way to the top. Marriages, deaths, mistresses, secret passageways, and betrayal---it all added up to the French Revolution that cost Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette their heads. Yet it is also within these opulent walls that we find the dreams of those who conquered Europe through military campaigns or outsmarting their own bloodline. No one was safe. No one was exempt from the King's spies who secretly opened letters and reported on every move within the palace and grounds. Join me as we look behind the scenes at the lives of the French Kings, their wives, their mistresses, and blood relations as they built, tore down, and rebuilt a name that became synonymous with jaw-dropping opulence, power, wealth, fashion, and scandal. Come with me inside the golden gates of Versailles. Packed with photographs, floor plans, and maps, this is a comprehensive look at the palace's history. Also included is the documented hauntings at the palace, including the bestselling account of two women academics who visited the Petit Trianon grounds in 1901 and interacted with the ghost of Marie Antoinette and others of her time period. It is a story that has fascinated the world for decades. Other reports of paranormal activity at the palace are also included. Rebecca F. Pittman is a bestselling author of 14 titles. Her History and Haunting Of series is regularly featured on international TV, radio, and podcast shows. She researches the most-haunted venues in the world, staying in their shadowed bedrooms and interviewing the owners and staff. Her book The History and Haunting of Lizzie Borden spotlights five new pieces of evidence Ms. Pittman found in the famous murder case of 1892. A companion rummy-style card game, The Lizzie Borden Paranormal Card Game, featuring evidence, suspects, alibis and a paranormal twist, is available for sale on her website. She makes her home in Colorado.

Palace of Versailles: Home to the Kings of France
Palace of Versailles: Home to the Kings of France

Author: Jennifer Howse

Publisher: Weigl Publishers

Published: 2015-08-01

Total Pages: 24

ISBN-13: 1489634037

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The opulent Palace of Versailles became the official royal residence of French monarchs during the reign of King Louis XIV. With 551,112 square feet (51,200 square meters) of floor space, rooms filled with gilded furniture, and more than 7,000 works of art, the Palace of Versailles showcases the luxurious lifestyles of the kings of France. Explore the facility, history, people, and science behind the building in Palace of Versailles, a Castles of the World book.