|
The idyllic home of nineteen year old Queen Marie Antoinette, presented to her by her husband King Louis XVI in 1774, the first year of his reign – These paintings are from the original book (c. 1786) showing the plans and views of the gardens as laid out by the Queen. Le Petite Trianon (The Palais de Flore as it was previously known) was host to the most noble of French aristocracy, including one Madame de Pompadour. This palace and it’s surrounding buildings and garden are steeped in French history, not all of it tranquil. In truth, Antoinette and Louis were placed in harms’ way not only by elements of their personalities but by the changing face of political and social ideology in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1789 a mob descended on the palace at Versailles and demanded the royal family move to the Tuilerie palace inside Paris. From that point on the King and Queen were virtual prisoners of The French Revolution - On January 21, 1793 King Louis XVI was convicted and executed on theguillotine, Mary Antoinette was executed without proof of the crimes for which she was accused on October 16, 1793. |