Today is the tercentenary of Louis XIVth's passing, at 8:05 this morning, at the palace, a few days before his 77th birthday. The palace's website dedicated to this event is pretty cool, check it out
here!
It's also back to school day in France. And of course, it's the first of the month which means Theme Day in the City Daily Photo blogging community! You would have thought that VDP would easily find a curiosity in Versailles... Well nope, not after well over six years of blogging! You'd have had to pay her good money (lots of Swiss Francs for instance) to go to the palace in August and so she came up with a historical curiosity, which she photographed on
this stormy August Monday. Saint-Louis neighbourhood, which you often see on this blog, was entirely built on what used to be the 'parc aux cerfs', literally the 'stag park'. It was a clearing that provided game for the royal court and aristocracy during the reigns of Louis XIII and Louis XIV. In Versailles, it is also said that there was a mansion where, at the instigation of his mistress
Madame de Pompadour, king Louis XV hid some (very) young subjects of his romantic liaisons... You might want to read more about this story by clicking
here. Anyway, nowadays, all that remains is this plaque below (hotel as in old French for private residence, not a place to stay at), and the building on Anjou Street. It is also said there was a tunnel somewhere, behind the door on the right of the second photo... Happy September everyone! All the posts of the community are
this way!
En ce jour de rentrée scolaire et de tricentenaire de la mort de Louis XIV (voir le site du château, dédié à l'événement, très intéressant
ici), nous entamons un nouveau mois. Le thème du premier du mois dans la communauté des blogueurs City Daily Photo, c'est "curiosité". Dur, dur de trouver des curiosités à Versailles qui n'ont pas déjà été publiées sur ce blog par votre dévouée servitrice, depuis largement plus de six ans qu'il existe ! Au demeurant, il aurait fallu la payer très, très cher pour qu'elle se rendre au château en plein mois d'août (!) et elle eut donc l'idée d'aller en quête de l'hôtel du Parc aux Cerfs, rue d'Anjou, qu'elle photographia
un lundi tempétueux d'août. Tout le quartier Saint-Louis est construit sur l'ancienne réserve de chasse de Louis XIII et Louis XIV.
Madame de Pompadour, favorite de Louis XV, après la fin de sa liaison physique avec le roi en 1752,
installa, dans une demeure de ce quartier, des femmes, souvent très jeunes, qui y
étaient entretenues pour satisfaire la concupiscence du roi. Ce qu'il en reste de nos jours ? Pas grand chose, si ce n'est cet hôtel et cette plaque. Il y aurait un souterrain, dit-on, passé la première porte à droite de la deuxième photo ci-dessous... Pour voir les interprétations du thème dans des villes du monde entier, c'est
par là ! Bonne rentrée aux plus jeunes et bon mois de septembre à tous !
Oh and lest VDP forgets, it is said that the delightful model for
François Boucher's no less delightful painting, Resting Girl, was
Marie-Louise O'Murphy, one of the residents of the Parc aux Cerfs... The information as to the identity of the young girl seems to have been given by no less than
Casanova himself!
There are two versions painted by Boucher. Which one do you prefer?
Laquelle des deux versions de Boucher préférez-vous ?
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Those of you who have been following VDP know I am reluctant to photograph people. Also, I did not have time to go out for a photographic walk. So what you are looking at is the man who has been people watching for a long, long time. He watches millions walk by him every year. Yes, it's the statue of Louis XIV which I have shown you in detail here and here. To see more theme day interpretations, check Julie's Theme Day blog. It's this way. Happy September ladies and gents!
Two more shadows of yesterday's exhibit, with the bust of Louis XIV by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the second shot.
Inspired by Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac's 1657 prose on a voyage to the moon, here is a delightful exhibit in Diana's room. Can you see the shadow projected on the door on the right? The bust in the middle of the photo is of Louis XIV and was sculpted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Snow at last! Interrupting the old car series which I had barely begun to show you: Sunday images of Avenue de Paris and the palace!
I hesitated and went for orange! Two shots of 2011 that I particularly like, above the statue of Louis the 14th against a sky ablaze and below, sunset reflections on the pavement of Notre-Dame market place after a thunderstorm. HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you! Click here to view thumbnails for all participants
