made4television: Versailles, Deux

The images here were taken both before and after the photographs in the previous post. They document our walk-up to Versailles and our sojourns through the immensity that is the palace/museum.

The King's Chapel Exterior

This building was my favorite at Versailles, both inside and outside. Photos of the interior appear a little later in this post.

Two buildings with this inscription appeared on either side of the grand gate at Versailles. If you want to know what it means, you will need to ask Karen Kimball. Google Translate says it means "To all the glories of France." Carl, who knows absolutely no French, claims it means "All to the glory of France."

A new sculpture is being installed at the entrance to the Louvre. It looks a bit like the whale bones . . . rusted whale bones. In any case, the sculpture is very mod-ren. Not at all period. Robert was offended by the mixing of styles. He's a purist.

Robert Dwarfed by the Gates at Versailles.

Sorry, that joke never gets old for me. My only regret is that I don't have a picture of Carl dwarfed by the gates at Versailles. At this point, we were all waiting for Carl who was purchasing tickets for our tour of the King's private apartments. This was a rare treat for us, to be left to wander free as long as we didn't leave a prescribed area. Whenever we were in the Metro or on the street and Carl was seeking information, Robert, Jordan, and I stood with our backs to walls, waiting obediently until we were called into service or action. Actually, we were all pleased that Carl had done such thorough research and took such good care of us throughout our stay in Paris. If you need help planning a trip, or have wealthy relatives who do, we are renting Carl out for trip planning at $50.00 per hour--$75.00 if you would like him to go with--$100 if you are not a good listener.

At the palace, they are in the process of reapplying the gold leaf to the roof and the windows at the roof line. The building that mirrors this one on the right side of the gates was completely shrouded as they complete the process on that building.

The 2010 season at Versailles is brought to you by, among others, Chanel and Moet

Hall of Stone Kings

Interior view of the King's Chapel from the first floor.

Cupola painting in the King's Chapel

When we got really tired (and we did get really tired) one of our favorite past times was captioning the statuary. We decided that this was a 15th century French Supreme giving his rendition of "Stop in the Name of Love."

"Don't you touch my crown. Sekurahty. Somebody call sekurahty."

Ceiling detail from the King's Chapel shot from the second floor.

This picture is shot from the King's Balcony on the second floor of the Chapel. This is the site where LeRoi sat when he attended Mass. The most interesting fact about Mass in the chapel was that when LeRoi was in attendance, he faced the priest. The courtiers, on the other hand, faced the King.

A shot of the ceiling in the Grand Salon

Fireplace detail from the Grand Salon

LeRoi's bust of LeRoi

Ceiling detail in one of the salons leading to the Hall of Mirrors

Relief carving in the Salon of War, the last room before you enter the Hall of Mirrors

The Hall of Mirrors

The Ceiling in the Hall of Mirrors

LeRoi's Ceremonial Bed

Fun fact to know and tell: There was an entire ceremony devoted to putting LeRoi to bed. During the ceremony, he was attended by courtiers, many of whom had specific tasks to perform in readying him for bed. After the ceremony was over, the King retired to the bedchamber in his private apartments.

The Headdress of the Dauphine's Bed

As you can see from the foregoing picture, this one, and the two that follow, LeRoi's decorator was an ancestor of Jean-Bruce, Napoleon's decorator (mentioned earlier in this blog). Jean-Bruce's great, great grandfather, Jean-Maurice, was selected by LeRoi to decorate the bedchambers of both the Dauphin and the Dauphine. Jean-Maurice was particularly fond of feathers and used them at every opportunity. LeRoi gave him free reign to use feathers as long as he didn't incorporate them into boas. That, LeRoi thought, was just a bit too much.

The Dauphine's Bed--The Total Package

One of Flannery O'Connor's Irish ancestors visited Versailles in hopes of getting an appointment as a fabric weaver to the King. As you can see by the fabric on this davenport in the Dauphine's apartment, Ailfried O'Connor was awarded the contract to weave the fabrics for the Dauphine's bedchamber. Like his great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter, Ailfried--a good Catholic--was fond of peacocks. He is quoted as saying, "Aye, by gorah shlomish, there be a map o' the universe in the tail o' the peacock."