This book presents the watercolors of "Trianon" which were comissioned by Marie-Antoinette for the albums she gave to visting royalty to whom she offered Fetes in the Trianon gardens. These watercolors were executed by Claude-Louis Chatelet and Richard Mique around 1785-86 and bound into albums with gilt-embossed leather bindings and covers lined with silk. Four are known to have survived; the 26 watercolors and plans reproduced in this book are kept in the album of the Biblioteca Estense in Modena. They are exquisite testimonials of the pavilions, fabriques and gardens which were built for Marie-Antionette at the Trianon and include views of the temple of Love, the rocher, the Belvedere, the jeu de Bague and more. The sophisticated presentation of this book has kept the spirit of Marie-Antoinette's albums, and the author's introduction and captions help the reader to understand why and how the "Trianon" became very quickly the epitome of the decorative elegance and refinement that gave France the artistic hegemony at the end of the 18th century.

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.

This is the true story of two Englishwomen getting caught up in one of the most fascinating and inexplicable "time travel" experiences ever recorded. After travelling down to the grand French palaces of Versailles, they proceed to take a walk along the various pathways and gardens outside, only to lose their way and on top of that, get lost in a time warp, literally. It takes them back in time to the palace gardens at the time of the French Revolution and to a face-to-face confrontation with Marie Antoinette, among others. No, this is not fiction, it purports to be fact. The two women, both prominent academics, give us a very convincing and staggering account of their claims. This book is their clear and thought-provoking explanation of exactly what happened to them. Were they mistaken? Was it a hoax? Was the experience real? You decide. This is a truly fascinating book, which quickly sold 10, 000 copies when it was first published. Here it is back in print again at long last.

Over the past century, luxury has been increasingly celebrated in the sense that it is no longer a privilege (or attitude) of the European elite or America’s leisure class. It has become more ubiquitous and now, practically everyone can experience luxury, even luxury in architecture. Focusing on various contexts within Western Europe, Latin America and the United States, this book traces the myths and application of luxury within architecture, interiors and designed landscapes. Spanning from antiquity to the modern era, it sets out six historical categories of luxury - Sybaritic, Lucullan, architectural excess, rustic, neoEuropean and modern - and relates these to the built and unbuilt environment, taking different cultural contexts and historical periods into consideration. It studies some of the ethical questions raised by the nature of luxury in architecture and discusses whether architectural luxury is an unqualified benefit or something which should only be present within strict limits. The author argues how the ideas of permissible and impermissible luxury have informed architecture and how these notions of ethical approval have changed from one context to another. Providing voluptuous settings for the nobles and the leisure class, luxury took the form of not only grand palaces, but also follies, country and suburban houses, private or public entertainment venues and ornate skyscrapers with fast lifts. The Architecture of Luxury proposes that in Western societies the growth of the leisure classes and their desire for various settings for pleasure resulted in a constantly increasing level of ’luxury’ sought within everyday architecture.

Marie-Antoinette has been idolized as the height of eighteenth-century French style and vilified as the spark that ignited the French Revolution. This book departs from such traditional interpretations of the infamous queen’s reign and chooses to reflect on the humanistic aspects of her private realm. To escape the formalities and royal obligations of Louis XVI’s court, Marie-Antoinette created a private realm of pleasure for herself at the Petit Trianon and Hameau, where she planted the first Anglo-Chinese garden; created a trysting grotto; a working farm; and revolutionized architecture and gardening trends for the century to come. Marie-Antoinette’s entire private domain and its story are told in beautiful photographic detail by François Halard for the first time since its recent restoration and accompanied by well-researched texts by garden expert Christian Duvernois.

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.