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Versailles Gossip- Empire Style Portrait (the Portrait of Madam Senonnes)
- A Cat Chasing a Butterfly
- The Emperor’s Barge
- Marie-Antoinette (a text of Jean Cocteau translated by Vadim Bystritski)
- Indifferent (a text of Paul Claudel translated by Vadim Bystritski)
- Napoleon II and the Cinco de Mayo
- Le Gros’ Portrait of Napoleon’s Aid-de-Camp
- Style Empire in Painting
- Falling in Style
- A Swede in the XVIII Century Paris.
Category Archives: Versailles Fashions
The Crown and its Mystery
Medieval Western Europe was made out of three traditions: Classical, Judaic and Germanic, where Christianity served as a cement for what was there before and what came after. This large topaz was carved in antiquity and later framed by the … Continue reading
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On the Inside of a Grand Piano
In the Renaissance Italy the insides of footlockers were often painted, and sometimes those pictures were of nude women; perhaps this is why Titian’s Venus of Urbino has an open trunk in the background? Rumor had it that the XVII … Continue reading
Louis XIV at the Haunted Palace
I’ve talked a little about ghosts and a lot about perfumes; but I have never mentioned how closely the two happen to be related: it goes back to 1654 and even earlier, so this is a Paris-Versailles, or rather Louvre-Versailles … Continue reading
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The Golden Age of Fans
Today I went to see an exhibition The Golden Age of Fans, it is in the Marais, in a small, inexpensive museum called Cognacq-Jay. What I enjoyed most about it were all the old ladies that came to see it, shuffling … Continue reading
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The Court of Perfume
The Perfumed Court, that’s how they nick-named Versailles in the XVIII century: Louis XV insisted that perfumes be changed every day, while some of the fountains gave off the monarch’s preferred aroma; there were different perfumes for different occasions and for different … Continue reading
Looking Under the Skirt of Marie-Antoinette
In 1772 Peter Kintzing, a watch-maker, David Roentgen, a furniture maker, plus 24 other artisans, created this automaton whose features strikingly resemble those of Marie-Antoinette. The rumor has it that the hair on the doll is that of the queen, … Continue reading
The Erotic Cane
The golden age of such canes is XIX century, but the XVIII and XVII had made their contributions as well. So important they have become in the days of Louis XIV, that even women added them to the list of … Continue reading
Gambling, Voyeurism and Washing Your Butt At Four In the Morning
Господа офицеры, быть беде, Господин Полковник сел на биде! Козьма Прутков Messieurs Officers, trouble! The colonel is using bidet! Kozma Prutkov I am fascinated by the XVII century French furniture. It tells such stories! For example, look at this chair; … Continue reading
Marie-Antoinette For Mass Consumption
In the late XVIII century it could take you eight hours to travel from Versailles to Paris. To Marie-Antoinette belongs the record of thirty-five minutes, sparing no horse or carriage. During one of those night rides the carriage did break … Continue reading
The XVIII Century Inspired Fashions At Trianon
The closed for repairs and renovation Museum of Fashion brought to Versailles a dozen of items. They are to be seen at the Big Trianon. The idea is simple, take an XVIII century outfit and trace its influence to today. So … Continue reading
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