On the grounds of Versailles sits the ultimate summer place, modeled on an imaginary Normandy village. Designed by Richard Mique (1728-1794), favorite architect of Queen Marie Antoinette in 1783, it was known as Le Hameau de la Reine, or the Queen's Hamlet. Model farms were a favorite plaything among the old French aristocracy. Here they could play a grown-up version of dress-up, wearing the outfits of shepherdesses (as seen in paintings by Jean-Honore Fragonard and others), disporting themselves as milkmaids with the creme des vaches. Rustic on the outside, luxurious on the inside, these little buildings allowed royalty to enjoy pleasures difficult to experience in their grand salons - informality and intimacy. Marie Antoinette reigned supreme at Le Hameau; it was the one place in his kingdom where Louis XVI was required to wait for an invitation before making a visit. A wife could while away her summer days in near monastic solitude.
Images: c.1910, from the collection of the Chateau de Versailles.
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2 comments:
O! So much nicer than a treehouse in the back yard, isn't it?
Children make their own play houses in summer. Royalty hires an architect for the job.
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