Tea at Trianon: The Queen's Boudoir

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Saturday, May 7, 2011

The Queen's Boudoir

How to imitate Marie-Antoinette's decor. It can be done, according to Classical Addiction:

To create the pearl background for the wall panels I recommend Blue Pearl Paste in ”Pearl” which is manufactured by Blue Pearl Paint. It is available online from Metallic Mart. As the name implies it is a paste and is troweled on. I suggest using a base paint color in either a metallic cream tone using Modern Masters Champagne or silver or gold as your base. Modern Masters is a good choice for silver and gold as well. Then apply at least 2 thin coats of the Pearl Paste to achieve a smooth pearlescent shimmer. Modern Masters is available in many paint stores, particularly those which offer faux finishing supplies. Always make a sample which you can put up in the room and view at different times of day to see how the colors are affected by the light.

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http://www.beaux-artes.com; May 27, 2011 at 1:50:00 PM EDT