The COTELLE Gallery of the Great Trianon in the garden of Versailles |
The Great Trianon floor plan |
The COTELLE
Gallery
The Great
Trianon in the garden of Versailles
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The Great
Trianon (Le Grand Trianon) is a large pleasure pavilion in the castle garden of
Versailles, named after a former hamlet Trianon. The ceremonial customs forced
the king to share even the most intimate matters with the court - from getting
up in the morning (liver) to going to bed in the evening (coucher).
The royal
desire for a little privacy resulted in the construction of two pleasure
castles in the park: on the one hand, the graceful Grand Trianon, built in 1687
in Italian style by Jules Mansart and consisting of two wings connected by a
pink marble colonnade and, on the other hand, the Cotelle Gallery, built at
right angles to the right wing.
The Cotelle Gallery ( The Great Trianon Versailles )
This long
and cleverly placed gallery protects the ground floor flower beds of the Grand
Trianon against the worst winter weather. The gallery has eleven windows along
the full length of the building facing south and only five on the north side.
The gallery
is decorated with 24 paintings - of which 21 by Jean Cotelle, hence the name -
depicting the forestquet of Versailles and Le Trianon as they were when these
canvases were painted in 1687.
They
provide a valuable insight into the layout of the gardens when they were first
laid out in the seventeenth century. The niches in this gallery originally
contained benches, which Louis-Philippe had replaced with two Languedoc marble
basins from the Louis XV collections.
Under each
painting there is an elegant console in (? Empire style).
The COTELLE
Gallery of the Great Trianon in the garden of Versailles |
Gilded
frame with garlands
|
Normally,
this gallery is not accessible to the public, only the first two metres of the
gallery are open to the public, and within these two metres, bounded by a thick
rope, this part of the Cotelle Gallery is also the end of your visit to the Grand Trianon in Versailles.
What's so
special about this gallery?
When I
first came here many, many years ago, I had already noticed that around these
24 paintings there were special beautiful gilded frames, and in particular the
lower part.
A central
shell motif with a beautiful gilded garland of flowers. I had already
photographed the two frames in the section accessible to the visitor a number
of times. From a distance I could recognize that these super beautiful garlands
of flowers could all be different. A source of inspiration for the woodcarver,
I thought. But I couldn't take pictures, it was a pity.
In 2014
there was a temporary exhibition in this gallery but due to the arrangement it
was unfortunately not possible to photograph these 'other' gilded flowers
garlands.
July 26,
2019, there was again a temporary exhibition (modern art) with this time a
constellation in the center of the gallery.
Talk about
happiness! Photos could be taken of the designs and combinations of the gilded
garlands to your heart's content. The imagination of these woodcarvers must
have been enormous to draw and create all these combinations of flowers in
wood.
Probably
the frames are made of soft wood although I'm not sure, but from the damage of
the gilding I saw a kind of wood of light hue appear. I'll let you enjoy the craftsmanship,
imagination and combinations of the garlands of flowers. Hopefully it will be a
source of inspiration for you.
The COTELLE Gallery Versailles |
Gilded
frame with garlands as inspiration for the woodcarver
|
The COTELLE Gallery of the Great Trianon in the garden of Versailles |
The COTELLE Gallery of the Great Trianon in the garden of Versailles |
The COTELLE Gallery Versailles |
Gilded
frame with garlands as inspiration for the woodcarver
|
Gilded frame with garlands of flowers |
The COTELLE Gallery of the Great Trianon in the garden of Versailles |
Gilded frame with garlands
|
Gilded frame with garlands of flowers |
https://www.patrickdamiaens.info |
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