Marie Antoinette's

Today I decided to see what the most expensive item for sale on good old eBay was -that referenced Marie Antoinette of course.

For sale is a framed work of art from the 18th century. A painting to commemorate the first hot air balloon flight that crossed the English Channel. This particular piece was presented to Antoinette on 16 June 1785. And now you can own it and have it in your own living room for the low price of $200,000.00. I am sure it hung near the mantle(s) at Versailles for years!
Discuss!

"Madame de Prie was more than beautiful; she was seductive in everything."

Jeanne Agnès Berthelot de Pléneuf was bron in 1698, as the new century was dawning. Her mother took great pride in raising her, for her mother was known for her exceptional beauty, wit and numerous admirers. The apple did not fall far from the tree, Jeanne Agnes was a most gorgeous girl, who absorbed everything from her mother and her actions. Watching her daughter grow up, gifted with many charms of her own and both beauty and freshness, her mother felt she was a threat by stealing her own admirers. This paranoia - possibly well deserved, like mother like daughter - created a great deal of stress and hostility on the family. Possibly in effort to quell the rivalry between daughter and mother Jeanne Agnes was married off to the Marquis de Prie who was conveniently ambassador of the court of Savoy. For the first part of Louis XV's life, Jeanne Agnes was away at Turin with her husband, but their paths would cross soon enough. Her life goes on to be an exciting ride through Versialles, with too many details to duscuss here. So I am going to breif you with a Long Story Short. I will dub this, "Live Fast, Die Pretty."

When she reached the pretty age of 21 Madame la Marquise de Prie moved back to France. She arrived with more talent, beauty, charm and wit than ever. She was a celestial creature at court. Everyone felt that way about whether they liked her or not. One of her contemporaries stated:

"[he] did not think there ever existed a more celestial creature than Madame de Prie. She was the real flower of the sweet pea. A charming face, and even more graces than beauty; wit, genius, ambition, and supreme presence of mind, and with it all the most decent air in the world. Her fascination was great." -d'Argenson

As powerful as her charms were, her personality was able to dominate them. Some personality traits that have been remarked on by historians include her lack of couth at pubic functions, her personal ambitions, her arrogance (undoubtedly gifted from mom) and from her dad- the tendency to spend like there was no tomorrow. My favorite description of her is a human tigress. rawr.

She went to Versailles with the predetermined idea to win over Françoise-Marie de Bourbon's husband, Philip d'Orleans, and become his maîtresse en titre. She caught word that he did not let his mistresses touch political matters, and she wasn't just looking for a sugar daddy. She wanted to have some control over a country, and who wouldn't! She turned to the more mailable Louis Henri de Bourbon-Condé who would become the Premier Minister of France after d'Orlean's passing, and later the Prince de Condé.

It was a good choice. As the king was becoming a man, Madame de Prie wanted to find Louis XV a mistress, so that she could influence the lucky mistress who would influence the king. Genius plan...just flawless!

Flawless until she realized a mistress was probably not the safest way to grip the king. They are all usually such ambitions fame seekers! And she should know. So she decided she needed to find him a wife. Louis XV was betrothed to the Infanta of Spain, the young girl was being raised at Versailles waiting for her wedding day. The Infanta sent back to Spain. Yes it was as insulting as it sounded. Madame de Prie then had a list sent to her of all the eligible bachelorettes fit to marry a king. Of 100 names of lovely ladies, "44 were too old, 29 too young, and 10 impossible." 17 were left, and Jeanne Agnes thought she needs to pick the girl who would view her as a fairy godmother.

Well her choice was Maria Leszczyńska, the daughter of the deposed King of Poland, Stanisław I. This, dare I say, absurd ex man of power, was living in France, on a pension. So Maria was not quite living as the princess of luxury as one might imagine. She was even in consideration to marry a "neighborhood gentleman." So the news from Versailles that she was chosen to marry the King of France was an overwhelming miracle. * Poof! Fairy Godmother! *

All worked to her plan until she and her man decided the Kings influential and scheming tutor had to go. Louis was so upset to the man who he spend so much time with growing up, his mentor, that he fell depressed. New at his job, he had to be reminded that as King, he could recall the Abbe if he wanted. So he did! And the sneaky tutor tattled on Madame de Prie and the Prince de Condé. They were both forced to leave Versailles and live in different places.

In a fashion as glamorous as times she lived in, Madame de Prie makes her exit. She spent lots of money on her new home, and threw lavish parties. She separated herself from her old circle, in a "You'll miss me when I'm gone, baby" way. She had a lover, who was rather handsome. Being expelled from Versailles takes it's toll on ladies and as a result, "she had grown so thin that she was nothing more than a woman's head on a spider's body." She ended her own life at 27, by poison which had a different effect on her than she probably planned. When she was found, her toes were all black and her friend d'Argenson said,

"Here for those who give heed to it, is food for reflection on compacts with the devil, who comes at the agreed hour to twist our necks, though with Madame de Prie it was her legs."

Madame de Prie was portrayed by the talented Charlotte Rampling in La Dernière fête aka The Fall of the Marquise de Prie, which happens to have a rather fabulous soundtrack. If you in Canada or the USA and don't mind playing region 2 DVD's on your computer I suggest you pick up the movie for a fun night in the 18th century.

This is the fun part!! I invite you to put together your own character thoughts, who do you want to see in this move and who will they portray! It will be so interesting to see who everyone picks! If you have been reading the guides for a while now you will know that there is a variety of tarts and ladies to choose from, and some men too! If you are just visiting I trust you have a favorite political or royal personality of your own! Leave a comment and let the casting begin!

Little known fact: Heather and I have been known to dabble in the art of hat making ourselves. That is why when I came across this pretty pink piece, I just could not resist posting it!

This hat is called The Duchess because it is a creation inspired by Georgiana's picture hat. It is certainly something you might want to have for the 2009 race season or just for wearing to a promenade with your girl friends.

It is for sale at Vienna La Rouge's Etsy shop, which can be found here. Have you ever dabbled in the dangerous world of haberdashery??? I would love to see your recreation hats!

I remember my first visit to the Louvre, my travel mates and I all split up and went our different ways. I passed through the Napoleon apartments and other period rooms and hurried on to make sure I could see all my portraits and favorite artists. Around noon I decided that I would make my way back to the decorative art section. Like stepping into a good movie or well written book, (when you do not need to use your imagination) I found the atmosphere instantly overwhelming. There really is too much for the eyes, a total I-Max theatre experience. Maybe Only for a drooling historian of space. This is the reason I am delighted with museums a la Frick. In any case, most likely unbeknownst to my companions, unless I blurted it out, I - in that one day- I visited the apartments and decorative arts section 3 times. *looks away and holds up fan*

So a sucker for the mundane world of objects d'art here we have our first post on, Chairs. Please don't run away now! It gets interesting! Let me try anyway....

When I refer 18th century French furniture I will be discussing 6 main styles which do overlap each other and have funny dates. They are Régence, Louis XV, Transition, Louis XVI, Directoire and Empire.

When the 18th century began, fashionable homes and palaces were filled with chairs that were high backed and very throne-like. They were heavy, stocky and were usually lined up against walls, enhancing their appearance as a solid piece of the room.

Furniture styles changed in accordance to changes in fashion, believe it or not. Look at womens dress for exaple. A lady who has both wit and taste arrives to the party dressed in the latest court gown, complete with those sexy new paniers. Not only does she look great, super slim and very classy, she is wearing the cutest new little blue shoes to match. The walk from her sedan chair to the party has exhausted her and her little feet are not too happy either. So she goes to sit in the first chair available, convienctly near a particualrly handsome duke. But oh no! the decor of the room is outdated! The chairs have arms which extend forward above the front legs of the chairs! She can't sit and the duke gets up and leaves and our poor lady is left standing on moaning feet and without charming company. The old style just would not do! In fact a diarist had noted, "the act of sitting down pushes the whale bones out in such a manner that armchairs have had to be specially made to accommodate them." 1728

How were the chairs changed when fashion demanded? Well to start, the arms of the chair had to go! Well not totally... Typically they followed the frame of the chair and extended to above the front legs. But paniers ladies! That just would not do. Instead the arms were shortened so that they did not extend as far as the front legs. Another demand was comfort and so the legs of the chair were shortened as well as the backs. Much more low key, yet fashionable and classy. Curves were in. The short curving arms of the chair and low back made it very comfy for men and ladies to rest their shoulders on, and most importantly, they would not mess up their hair!!!!

If that is not proof of fashion altering furniture, then I do not know what is! Are you kinda, possibly, slightly interested in reading more? I am not going to overwhelm you with details just yet, but if you are willing to wait for them, I have done my job! More to come in the future. Til then please lounge in your favorite chair patiently!

My lovely assistant has helped me by drawing the name of a lucky commenter out of a fabulous recreation of an 18th century hat. So if the lucky Katie T would kindly contact me at MarieAntoinetteGossip@gmail.com, you will receive your Birthday Give Away prizeee!! Hurrah!
So congrats Katie T on the first Gossip Guide Give Away!