Tea at Trianon: The Interiors Style of Marie-Antoinette

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, April 30, 2023

The Interiors Style of Marie-Antoinette

Marie-Antoinette may have liked this.

A silly article but some of the pictures are nice. Although the brunette in the 1820's style has nothing to do with Marie-Antoinette. And the picture of the game room is NOT at Petit Trianon or anywhere near it. The Queen loved elegant simplicity, pastels, chinoiserie, fresh flowers, and rustic country living with a touch of gold leaf. Her brother, not her father, was Holy Roman Emperor when the French alliance was made. But her mother the Empress ruled in her own right as Queen of Hungary and Queen of Bohemia. From House and Garden:

Built a stone's throw from her grander residence, Le Petit Trianon, the Queen's Hamlet (L'hameau de la Reine) served as a bucolic retreat wherein Marie Antoinette could escape the buttoned-up daily life of the royal court and partake in what she deemed as the “comforting and simpler” activities associated with country life (think butter-churning and apple picking). Against the backdrop of the idyllic French countryside, the hamlet featured a functioning dairy farm, a dovecote, boudoir, barn, mill and lighthouse, as well as sizeable acreage of fruit orchards and gardens.

Building a cottage might be out of reach for most, but we can all take away from the Queen's Hamlet its sense of country style and add it to our own decorative schemes. Swap plastic containers for wicker or rattan baskets, for example and opt for woollen blankets and soft fabrics; create comfortable, cosy spaces featuring classic country furnishings such as Howard armchairs (or, their French counterpart, the Bergère armchair), stripped wooden tables and antique porcelain and clay-ware. (Read more.)

This is NOT at Petit Trianon

Now this is a nice modern interpretation of the Queen's style:

Unknown said...: I do like her style a lot. While I like opulence, Versailles is rather nice, it can hurt my eyes in how much is covered in stuff. Rustic is probably a better term.; May 1, 2023 at 4:03:00 PM EDT