Tea at Trianon: Saint-Cloud

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

Friday, May 24, 2024

Saint-Cloud

The château de Saint-Cloud, a country estate owned by the Orléans family on the outskirts of Paris, was bought by Louis XVI for Marie-Antoinette in 1785. The king sold properties owned by the crown in the south of France in order to pay for the palace. Marie-Antoinette thought it was vital to get her children away from the unhealthy environment of Versailles, and Petit Trianon was not far enough way. So many members of the royal family, including Louis himself as a child, had become ill with tuberculosis over the years, and so the Queen wanted to get her children into healthier air. (As it was their oldest son would die of tuberculosis in 1789.) The King put the palace of Saint-Cloud in the Queen's name, which outraged many French people, since a Queen owning property in her own right and having complete control of it was something that had not happened since the middle ages.

Saint-Cloud is mentioned a great deal in the novels Trianon and Madame Royale, since for awhile after the royal family were taken prisoner in October 1789 they were still permitted at times to go to Saint-Cloud for the country air and to get some exercise. During the Restoration of 1815-1830, the royal family used Saint-Cloud as a summer residence. Marie-Thérèse, the daughter of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, would often walk from Saint-Cloud to her sanctuary at Villeneuve l'Étang.

Here is the chapel built by Marie-Antoinette. The photo was taken after the Commune ransacked the palace in 1871.

Above is a recreation of how the palace looked before it was destroyed.

The Bonapartes loved Saint-Cloud and maintained it in great magnificence. Above is the boudoir of Empress Eugénie.

Above is the cascade in the gardens at Saint-Cloud.

During the Commune of 1871, the palace was ruined, and no longer stands. Only the gardens remain, and the chapel built by Marie-Antoinette. Share

5 comments:

Julygirl said...: I find it disturbing when I hear about magnificent architecture or other works of art and beauty being destroyed by people who are too boorish to know or care what they are doing. I believe buildings like that are natiional treasures to the country where they exist.; August 21, 2009 at 4:42:00 PM EDT
lara77 said...: I could never understand why the French ALWAYS sunk to such levels of destructive barbarism during their many revolutions. If it was not selling off the priceless contents of Versailles it was burning the Tuileries Palace to the ground as well as beautiful Saint-Cloud.Such wanton acts of violence against a nation's priceless artistic legacy never cease to amaze me.; August 22, 2009 at 10:56:00 AM EDT
May said...: I remember Princess Henriette of Belgium mentions that the Duc d'Orleans was very resentful over having to sell Saint-Cloud to the King. Of course, I'm sure he was already resentful, but she noted it as an important step in the deterioration of family relations.; July 3, 2010 at 11:42:00 PM EDT
Hans Georg Lundahl said...: Probably not boorishness as much as fanaticism: trying to in a wy emulate the destruction of Pagan Temples at beginning of Christian era.

A isdirected and therefore truly fanatical emulation, since royalty is not an idol.; August 1, 2010 at 2:02:00 PM EDT
Leah Marie Brown said...: LOVED this blog post Elena Maria.

I was going to post something on my blog about this in the near future, but I am so busy with the move to Alaska I will share a little here first...

I was visiting Fontainebleau with a writer friend a few years ago. (Forgive me if I have shared this with you already) We met with the curator who gave us a behind the scenes tour of various closed rooms, including one that appeared to be a store room.

Guess what was in that room?

A desk that had once been at Saint Cloud and had belonged to Marie Antoinette. It disappeared - as so many items did - during the Revolution and somehow found its way to an antique shop in New York City. She let me bend down and look at the marking on the underside of the desk that had MA's crest. I wanted to touch it so bad I literally had to clench my hands into fists to stop from reaching out...

I am trying to get a photo of the desk to post on my page and will let you know when I have it.

I love all of the photos you have found to illustrate this piece...especially the recreation of Saint Cloud.; August 1, 2010 at 5:57:00 PM EDT