Views and Plans of the Petit Trianon at Versailles

Book excerpt: 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.