I found this excellent account of the wedding ceremony between Marie Antoinette and Louis-Auguste. This is not about the festivities, which were no doubt fun, but the actual ceremony that took place.
Showing posts with label Louis XV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Louis XV. Show all posts
18th Century Royal Wedding Ceremony: Marie Antoinette
I found this excellent account of the wedding ceremony between Marie Antoinette and Louis-Auguste. This is not about the festivities, which were no doubt fun, but the actual ceremony that took place.
Marie Antoinette Receives Advice from her Mother about Louis XV
“You are his Majesty's first subject; you owe him submission and obedience; you owe an example to the Court, to the courtiers, who execute the will of your master."Maria Theresa, 30 September 1771
Madame DuBarry Movie Release
Eureka!Entertainment have announced they are releasing Madame DuBarry, as part of their Masters of Cinema Series on September 22, 2014.
This film stars actress Pola Negri (Emma Bovary in Madame Bovary 1937) as Jeanne Vaubernier, who would become the infamous Madame DuBarry and Emil Jannings as Louix XV. Jennings also portrayed King Henry VIII in Anna Boleyn (1920).....
Tapestry from Marie Antoinette's Drawing Room to be auctioned
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| A tapestry panel hangs at Bantry House. Image via Bantry House. |
Pups of the Past: Dogs at Versailles
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| Nooo puppy, no! Marie Antoinette (2006), film. Sofia Coppola. |
Three favorite homes of Louis XV
Towards the end of his life, Louis XV spent his time between these three homes.
Royal Treasures from the Louvre: Louis XIV to Marie-Antoinette
When the Louvre sends art work to you, you go visit it! The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco has just opened their latest exhibition: Royal Treasures from the Louvre: Louis XIV to Marie-Antoinette.
Pups of the Past: Louis XV
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| Attributed to Pierre Gobert, Portrait of Louis XV with Two Dogs. Early 18th century, oil on canvas. Private Collection. |
Young Louis XV heads outside with two puppies!
For Sale: Madame du Barry's Marble Chimney Piece
On the 27th of January Madame du Barry's chimney piece is going up for auction in New York. The white marble piece was designed by Claude Nicolas Ledoux and is detailed in gold. Why is this so exciting? This piece and other 18th century treasures will be on view in New York City this month, but only for a week!
He just said what? Louis XV
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| Hyacinthe Rigaud, Portrait de Louis XV. Oil on canvas, 1715. Palace of Versailles. |
"Oh my god! How ugly he is!"
Louis XV: an early genealogical tree
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| Glokeur de Surchamps, The Fleur de France. Genealogical tree with thirteen miniature portraits. Museo Arqueologico Nacional, Madrid. Photo credit: Dominguez Ramos. |
This is a really amazing piece, housed at the Museo Arqueologico Nacional in Mardid. The elaborate gilt frame, titled Fleur de France (which can be seen towards the top) features thirteen portraits!
First Architect to the King
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| Jacques-Ange Gabriel, Chateau Fontainebleau. France, 1754. Hartill Art Associates Inc. |
Always help a lady in need: Madame du Barry
The royal wedding between the comte d'Artois and the comtesse was elaborate and exciting, but perhaps not exciting in a fun way!
During the night's celebration a number of guests showed up dressed in fashionable finery. These were no ordinary guests - they were wedding crashers! Worse yet, they were thieves! They spread throughout the party and stole whatever they could, purses and even clocks off the mantles.
As you can imagine, the sudden sweep of wedding crashers caused a bit of chaos/excitement, especially when guests realized their purse was not snug in their pocket. As the excitement began to build, Madame du Barry found herself being swept off her feet, perhaps pushed or just bumped, she was knocked off her balance, skirts swinging! Before she could catch her balance someone caught her and steadied her.
The courteous fellow, perhaps acting on instinct, saved the king's favorite from a bit of embarrassment. To reward his good judgement, Louis XV offered him a very generous annual sum of money. So remember, always help a lady in need!
Marie Antoinette is all luck at games
The evening the Comte d'Artois and his new wife were married, Louis XV hosted a grand reception for the couple at Versailles. Besides offering wonderful food, drink and entertainment, several gaming tables were set up. Marie Antoinette found herself seated to play a game of lansquenet (this was a popular card game- it may sound familiar as it was mentioned in the novel Les Liaisons dangereuses.)
During one round the dauphine, only eighteen years old at the time, won big! She earned more than 1,200 louis. She was a bit embarrassed at winning so much of her company's money that she spent the rest of the evening trying to gamble it away! With luck on her side that night, she left the table with 700 in remaining winnings.
The next day she was determined to get rid of the money, and with the help of the Comte de Mercy, she sent 50 to each of the parishes at Versailles, and distributed the rest to her servants and the poor.
Kings of France Madame, they are always Louis
M. Montjoye on Louis XVI from Adolphus, John. 1799. Biographical memoirs of the French Revolution. London: T. Cadell, jun. and W. Davies
Well they were not all "Louis" to be fair, but France had its share of Kings Louis on the throne. Here are some of the later ones by artists Fouquet, Perréal, de Champaigne, Le Brun, and Duplessis.
If the portraits themselves are not pleasing to you, (who said all Kings were handsome?) perhaps the fashions and accessories, or complimentary reds and greens will be!
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| Jean Fouquet, Portrait of Louis XI. Oil on panel. Image Source. |
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| Jean Perréal, Louis XII. c.1514. Windsor Castle. Royal Library. |
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| Philippe de Champaigne, Louis XIII (1601-1643), King of France. Oil on canvas, 17th century. Musée Carnavalet. |
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| Charles Le Brun, Portrait of Louis XIV. Painting, late 17th century. Musée du Louvre. |
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| Joseph Siffred Duplessis, Portrait of Louis XV, King of France (wearing breastplate and the Order of the Golden Fleece). Oil on canvas, 18th century. The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. |
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| Joseph Siffred Duplessis, Louis XVI. Oil on canvas, 1777. Musée Carnavalet. |
Royal Wedding: Wedding Bliss or Miss
After rumors circulated that he was to marry Adelaide, the king's daughter, the Duc de Chartres' luck took an unexpected turn. Of course, there was nothing wrong with marrying a daughter of France, but the suggested match never fully fabricated. In fact, had he had his way, he may well have married one of the daughters, but not Adelaide (he had eyes for Anne Henriette de France!) The young duc, who was only 18, was hot on the market, and his father was ready for the boy to settle down and live a wholesome life.
Marriage
Daughters of France aside, a bride was chosen for this bachelor duc, Louise Henriette de Bourbon Conti, who strutted around Versailles as Mademoiselle Conti. She was absolutely stunning. The couple had a winter wedding, December of 1743. The ceremony was held in the chapel of Versailles (same chapel Marie Antoinette was married in years later) and the couple was married by the famous Cardinal de Rohan. The entire royal family attended the ceremony, including the duc's old flame, Henriette (below).
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| Adelaide (left) Anne Henriette (right) |
The Honeymoon Ends
The hot passion these two newlyweds shared started to fade a few years after they started their lives together. Six years after the wedding at Versailles, reports of the duc's living were less than desirable. He was staying out until all hours of the night, gaming, and in debt. He drank too much and hung out with society far below his rank. Overall he seemed to be having a good time.
His beloved wife was keeping herself very busy with a lover and was rumored to have several lovers aside from her constant. This scandal was made public in 1751 when the duc finally told his wife enough was enough. He made it very clear that she was not to see the lover again ...or else..she would be sent away to a convent!
Louise Henriette had grown up in one and was not ready to go back. She threw a fit and refused to even dine with her husband. (ps she was also pregnant at this point...but by who...!) Needless to say, things didn't look so good. For whatever reason, the couple reconciled, but Louise Henriette passed away in 1759 just 32 years old. It didn't take long for rumors to spread that the cause of her early death was due to her unfaithful wedded life.
Royal Wedding...dress! Marie-Louise de Parma
Anton Raphael Mengs, Marie-Louise de Parma as a Bride. 1765, oil on canvas. Museo del Prado.
Here is Marie-Louise de Parma, in her splendid wedding gown, at age 13! Granddaughter of Louis XV, she married her cousin, Charles IV of Spain in 1765. Her wedding gown is light and layered, with soft pinks, floral greens and ivory. Diamonds and pearls mix to showcase her status, and she wears a bracelet with a miniature portrait of her betrothed on it.
The Republic of Letters
The above image shows the path of letters from 1700-1751 in England. Correspondence was coming and going from major cities and within counties. Stanford Uni has created the project Electronic Enlightenment, and you can view the interactive tool to see where letters were going during these years. You can view specific cities or just drag the map around to see paths. There is also an option to select correspondents, whose letters were going where. The project is based on a large sample of correspondence from the period. My favorite option is the flow!
Sadly there are only 2 letters represented for Louis XV's correspondence!
View the project here.
Oh yea, and another project:
jk!
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