Tea at Trianon: A Day at Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte

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

Sunday, October 4, 2015

A Day at Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte

From Reading Treasure:

In 2013, over 300,000 visitors graced the gilded halls and magnificently designed gardens of the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte; it was a record-breaking year for the estate, which has become one of France's must-see destinations since it was first opened to the public in 1968. A Day at Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, written by the brothers Alexandere, Jean-Charles and Ascanio de Vogüé, is an exceptionally intimate at the culturally significant Vaux-le-Vicomte estate, which has a compelling history.

The château's origins are anything but humble. Nicolas Fouquet, the (in)famous finance minister of Louis XIV, purchased the original estate in 1641 and spared no expense--the king's expense, that is--over the next ten years as he designed a château and gardens that boasted the glory of France to all who viewed it. And it was for glory of France that Fouquet racked up bill after bill and employed such talented (and expensive) artists as the architect Louis le Vau and decorator Charles le Brun, both masters of their craft. After all, if Fouquet could grant such expenditures to build a splendid estate, then the kingdom could surely afford to pay back any debtors as well. Keeping up appearances, in Fouquet's case, meant designing, building and furnishing an estate that could rival a king.

It is very appropriate that Nicolas Fouquet once wrote that "Vaux ... is an estate that I considered my primary seat ... and where I wanted to leave a mark of the status I had." Even today, the estate is a testament to the truly stunning amount of grandeur (so stunning that 'Vaux' is considered the precursor to Versailles) that Fouquet incorporated into both the palace and the gardens surrounding them. This grandeur was not just literal, but artistic as well, for the estate is above all things a triumph of design and experience. (Read more.)