Porcelain Trianon

History

As soon as Versailles became a high place of the Kingdom of France, Louis XIV nourishes the desire to create a place reserved for its relaxation and its pleasures. It is to carry out that, that Louis XIV buys in 1668 the village of Trianon, located at the North-West of the field of Versailles, in order to destroy it and to annex it to the field royal. He entrusts the building site of Trianon to its first architect Louis Vau. The building site is held of 1670 to 1672. Vau will build a series of five houses covered with squares blue and white earthenware said “to Chinese”, from where its name of “porcelain Trianon”. However to started from September 1671, the place changes vocation. It will consequently be intended to shelter the loves of the King and Madam de Montespan. But since 1687, Louis XIV orders the destruction of the porcelain trianon. Indeed its splendid decoration of earthenware réstite badly at time and the cracks appear rapidements on the walls. This destruction coincides with the beginning of the disgrace of Mrs. de Montespan, for whom this one had been built, and with the beginning of the favors of the King with Madam de Maintenon. The building site of new Trianon, or Trianon de Marbre, is granted Jules Hardouin-Mansart. First Trianon, it remains today only the layout of the garden.

Description of the place

Trianon de Porcelaine was composed of five houses. The central house was intended for the relaxation of the King, the four other houses which surrounded the court was intended for the preparation of culinary pleasures of the King. A device, that we would call today barbecue, had been installed in one of the courses.

The House of the King

Decoration interior of Trianon de Porcelaine is rather little known. It is known that the house of the King was composed of a central living room and two apartments: the Apartment of Diane and the Apartment of the Loves. The totality of the decorations, the stucks, the woodworks and furniture was painted in blue and white with the manner of the earthenware which decorated the walls of the house. The Apartment of the Loves sheltered the " Room of Amours" , reserved for the intimacy of Louis XIV and Madam de Montespan, and whose sumptuous decoration inspired by many restorers. It extistait also a cabinet of the perfumes which gathered all of the rare gasolines of flowers, of the gardens of Trianon.

Four houses of the court

The court was surrounded by four houses to the culinary preparations for the King. Two on each side of the court. The first for the desserts; the second for jams; third for soups, the entries and them out of works; and the fourth to draw up the fruits, the table of the Princes and Seignuers and for the service roads and the dressers.

Gardens

The gardens of Trianon de Porcelaine are divided into 3 parts, which persist still today: the terrace which borders the central House; the soft slope which goes down towards the Large-Channel; and the Low Garden. On the terrace 2 large floors of flowers are cut out decorated with a fountain decorated with earthenware. An astute system was imagined by the gardener Bouteux to make it possible to present various compositions of floors in a minimum of time. The flowers were planted in pots and the pots in the ground what made it possible to be able to change the pots of place at will. The slope which goes down towards the Large-Channel, being exposed full South, allowed the culture of orange trees. In the gardens low delimited of the terrace by a wall decorated with earthenware, the flowers and the fruit trees were protected from the winter by a system of dismountable greenhouses.

Random links: