MARIE ANTOINETTE

Portrait of Marie-Antoinette in a blue silk dress holding a rose

Louis XV’s Queen Marie Leszczynska had died two years before Marie-Antoinette arrived in France. The King decided that Marie-Antoinette, still the Dauphine, should occupy the Queen’s apartment even though she was only the Dauphine, wife of the heir to the throne.

The King organised some renovations to the Queen’s apartments which Marie Leszczynska had occupied for more than 40 years and where she had died. For the first few weeks after her arrival Marie-Antoinette stayed in the Dauphine’s apartment on the ground floor.

Marie-Antoinette occupied the Queen’s bedroom for almost 20 years. She was there when the crowd of protestors from Paris arrived at Versailles at the start of the French Revolution and forced the royal family to move to the Tuileries in Paris.

Marie-Antoinette was the last Queen to occupy this bedroom at Versailles.

Versailles

The Queen’s apartment occupies the first floor facing the garden. Her bedroom is in the centre of this photo,

The boiseries and paintings of the previous queen were preserved. Marie-Antoinette added the fireplace and bought new furniture. As with all the queen’s beds, it was much larger than that of the king. The king did not sleep with women in his bed but always went to their bed (which given the love life of kings prior to Marie-Antoinette’s husband was probably quite practical). 

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The fabric on the bed is original. The fabric was Marie-Antoinette’s choice for summer. In winter the fabric was crimson and gold brocade. Like the fabric, the jewellery cabinet on the wall was delivered in 1787, two years before the French Revolution.

The beautiful silk bedcover was sold during the Revolution. In 1959 Versailles was able to buy it back so what we see on the bed is actually the original (Fortunately the destruction of the bedcover shown in Sophia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” movie did not take place).

Doors concealed in the walls both sides of the bed lead to a series of smaller private rooms, passageways and staircases.

THE QUEEN’S NEW PRIVATE APARTMENT

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MADAME SOPHIE

When Louis XV died, his grandson Louis XVI allowed his three surviving daughters,
Adelaide, Victoire and Sophie, to keep their spacious apartments on the ground floor.
The new king referred to them as “Mesdames Tantes” (aunts).

Madame Sophie died in 1782 and Marie-Antoinette took the opportunity to convert her
ground floor apartment into her own “little apartment on the marble courtyard”.

There was already a suite of small private rooms behind the official bedchamber which had been there
from the time of Marie-Leszczynska and which Marie-Antoinette redecorated. She had also taken
over the rooms above on the second floor to create even more “by invitation only” spaces, including a
salon, dining room and boudoir as well as rooms for her staff.

The new apartment on the marble courtyard was different in that it was the same idea as the private
bedroom of Louis XV and XVI. It was a personal bedroom and bathroom, separate from the courtiers.

Marie-Antoinette's Private Bedchamber
The new bedroom overlooking the marble courtyard. This is a rare case where most of the furniture is original

This new apartment was very much in keeping with the idea of Louis XV which had been followed by her husband Louis XVI to have a private apartment. Official ceremonies still took place in the Queen’s bedchamber but this private apartment was where she liked to spend her time. It was referred to by the staff as “the Queen’s new apartment”. The green damask bed she had used for the birth of her first two children was modified and placed there. As childbirth for the Queen could not be private, she gave birth to her third and fourth children in her official bedchamber on the first floor.

Marie-Antoinette’s “little apartment on the marble courtyard”

Marie-Antoinette’s new bedroom was on the right
hand side and the bathroom was on the left.
Between was a library on the site of Madame Sophie’s. The apartment was destroyed by Louis-
Philippe when he turned Versailles into a museum.

The bedroom and bathroom have been restored
but the central part is now displayed as the
vestibule it was in the time of Louis XIV.

The restored vestibule leading from the marble courtyard to the parterre overlooking the grand canal. Marie-Antoinette’s ground floor bedroom is to the right and her bathroom is to the left. This area is where she had her library
The ground floor gallery runs along the garden side between the Dauphin’s apartment on the left and Mesdames’ apartments on the right (the doors at the end lead to the Dauphin’s apartment)
The bathroom was the last addition to Marie-Antoinette’s private apartment on the ground floor. It was done the year before the Revolution.

All bathrooms contained a day bed to take a rest following the bath. The bed in Marie-Antoinette’s
ground floor bathroom is the original from Louis XVI’s bathroom at Compiegne.

In 2011 there was an amazing exhibition by Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrove which brought to life Marie-Antoinette’s bathroom. The reason the fabric is different on the bed is that everything the artist does is in paper!!

For the exhibition they recreated a bath. The door on the left leads to the toilet.

Behind the bath there was a two way mirror, allowing light into the toilet area.

PETIT TRIANON

Petit Trianon
Marie-Antoinette
MARIE-ANTOINETTE— Petit Trianon style

Louis XVI decided to give the Petit Trianon to Marie-Antoinette.
He had a jeweller make a master key to the domain which was garnished with 531 diamonds.

Marie-Antoinette made it very much a private home. She dressed simply and enjoyed the freedom from the royal protocol.

She kept the furniture which had been left by Madame du Barry for 13 years. After three years she gilded the white woodwork on the bed. She also replaced the fabric but chose something
very similar—white silk with multi coloured flowers (Mme du Barry had branches and Marie-Antoinette had birds).

Two years before the Revolution she ordered the new furniture for the bedroom which is now there.

Marie-Antoinette's Bedchamber at the Petit Trianon. Entry to the boudoir
Marie-Antoinette’s new bedroom furniture at the Petit Trianon

Flowers had always been the decorative theme of the Petit Trianon. Painted ribbon tied bundles of wheat, with
branches of ivy and jasmine and lily of the valley decorate the sculptured wood of the furniture.

The new fabric was specially ordered from Lyon and features cornflowers and roses.

Like all the furniture at Versailles it disappeared with the French Revolution. There is however
a happy ending with Marie-Antoinette’s bedroom at the Petit Trianon. Just as the original bed
cover from the Queen’s state apartment in the chateau was returned, a substantial amount of
the furniture from Marie-Antoinette’s bedroom at the Petit Trianon has returned to Versailles
including the fire screen and four of the chairs. 

The bed was recreated with the identical fabric.

Desfarges, the silk manufacturer from Lyon, delivered the fabric for both the Queen’s official-
bed chamber in the Chateau and this bedroom in the Petit Trianon two years before the French Revolution.

Marie-Antoinette replaced Louis XV’s staircase and coffee room next to the bedroom with a
state of the art boudoir.

Boudoirs had been introduced in the time of Louis XV.

Boudoirs