It's sure been a busy week or two ... and about to get a lot busier, but that's another story.
Anyway, Dot and I managed a quick trip to Versailles last week and rekindle old memories of a visit we made there something like 15 years ago. It's a wonderful place to visit and last week Versailles came to us in Canberra when the National Gallery of Australia hosted 'Treasures from the Palace'. Walking through the exhibition I also rekindled my memories of my schooldays back in the 1960s - yes, I'm really that ancient - when I studied French history, geography, culture and language. Indeed, when I left school I could probably write better in French than I could in English. So I came face to face once again with many images the Le Roi Soleil (or Sun King, alias Louis Quatorze), the ill-fated Louis XVI and his famous wife, Marie Antoinette (Hm, must be a relative of mine!), and the restoration Bourbons. When told about the revolting peasants (or was it pheasants?) the ill-advised Marie Antoinette was quoted as saying "let them eat cake"! The peasants eventually got their revenge when she and her husband had their heads separated from their bodies during the French Revolution. All this reminiscing reminded me that back in the 2000s I attended a conference held at Louis 14th's stables at Rambouillet, not far from Versailles.
The exhibition hosted many pictures, sculptures and furnishings such as ceramics, tapestries, carpets and chairs all sourced from Versailles. These are some of the images we saw:
I think this is a portrait of Marie Antoinette made while she was in one piece!
I wonder what birds they kept in this bird-cage? It couldn't have been budgerigars since Australia was only settled one year before the French Revolution.
No, they didn't transport the Hall of Mirrors to Australia, although it certainly looked real to start with. Only the candelabra made the trip.
But this photo shows a real dude who looks a bit like me - appropriately dressed for the occasion as usual!
AS
Anyway, Dot and I managed a quick trip to Versailles last week and rekindle old memories of a visit we made there something like 15 years ago. It's a wonderful place to visit and last week Versailles came to us in Canberra when the National Gallery of Australia hosted 'Treasures from the Palace'. Walking through the exhibition I also rekindled my memories of my schooldays back in the 1960s - yes, I'm really that ancient - when I studied French history, geography, culture and language. Indeed, when I left school I could probably write better in French than I could in English. So I came face to face once again with many images the Le Roi Soleil (or Sun King, alias Louis Quatorze), the ill-fated Louis XVI and his famous wife, Marie Antoinette (Hm, must be a relative of mine!), and the restoration Bourbons. When told about the revolting peasants (or was it pheasants?) the ill-advised Marie Antoinette was quoted as saying "let them eat cake"! The peasants eventually got their revenge when she and her husband had their heads separated from their bodies during the French Revolution. All this reminiscing reminded me that back in the 2000s I attended a conference held at Louis 14th's stables at Rambouillet, not far from Versailles.
The exhibition hosted many pictures, sculptures and furnishings such as ceramics, tapestries, carpets and chairs all sourced from Versailles. These are some of the images we saw:
I think this is a portrait of Marie Antoinette made while she was in one piece!
I wonder what birds they kept in this bird-cage? It couldn't have been budgerigars since Australia was only settled one year before the French Revolution.
No, they didn't transport the Hall of Mirrors to Australia, although it certainly looked real to start with. Only the candelabra made the trip.
But this photo shows a real dude who looks a bit like me - appropriately dressed for the occasion as usual!
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