Monday 22 February 2010

Petit Trianon: Master bedroom

Marie Antoinette's bedroom at the Petit Trianon is a perfect reflection of the young queen. Recently restored, the bedroom is one of the most elegant rooms in the house. You can see it located below on the plan in blue.The placement of the bedroom would become important even with the planning of the Petit Trianon's gardens: the Temple of Love is on direct axis from the daybed out the window, seen below. Who says Marie Antoinette wasn't a romantic? Below you see the Petit Trianon from the Temple of Love, the bedroom highlighted in blue.The room features an exquisite bedroom suite by Georges Jacob made for Marie Antoinette that is probably the most famous furniture in the small palace. The furniture and embroidered upholstery all display her love of flowers.The bedroom breaks from the pale green color scheme found throughout the main floor of the Petit Trianon and is instead an icy blue. Seen below to the right is a clock featuring 2 eagles which represent the house of Austria. Marie Antoinette always discretely remained loyal to her roots. She must have felt at home at the Petit Trianon surrounded by the things which were important to her: a love of nature and her Austrian roots.Even the boiseries are adorned with flowers. Below is a sketch from the 1913 Petit Trianon book that shows the carving in detail.
The hardware, which I have been admiring throughout the tour, is extremely organic in form: again harking back to nature and details of flowers.I can't discuss Marie Antoinette's bedroom without including a picture of her as played so excellently by Kirsten Dunst in Sofia Coppola's movie.