Discover the exhibition: and the Trianon gardens. Bookletgame.

Transcription

1 Discover the exhibition: The Ki ng's Flowe rs and the Trianon gardens for children Bookletgame

2 Delve e into History... and the scent of flowers! In 2013, we are celebrating the 400th anniversary of the birth of André Le Nôtre, the Louis XIV s famous gardener..inhish honour, the Palace alaceof Versailles is celebrating flowers and gardens, with events such as the exhibition "The King's Flowers. Paintings, watercolours on vellum and parterres" es" taking place this summer at the Grand Trianon, Flowers and the Grand Trianon have a long-standing history: the palace was once known as "Flora's Palace" in reference to the Roman goddess of flowers; and the scented gardens surrounding the palace were greatly admired by the contemporaries of Louis XIV. This exhibition will enable you to discover their splendour, in particular Throught the National Natural History Museum s s delicate collection of precious watercolours on vellum (calfskin parchment). h the th The display continues in the Trianon gardens, replanted in 17 century style. Thus, by breathing in the scent of the tuberose or saponaria, it is almost possible to go back in time To discover all the surprises ses along the way, follow the guide on paper! First of all, let's go into the Grand Trianon The Grand Trianon is in fact a small palace: Louis XIV had it built in 1687, next to the majestic Palace of Versailles, to offer his family and select guests a private stay. It is also called the "Marble Trianon", because of the beautiful pink marble which decorates its façades (as opposed to the fragile blue and white porcelain-decorated «Porcelain Trianon». Seriously damaged, it was demolished then replaced by the current palace).

3 Booklet-game in the King's Flowers exhibition Here you are inside the Grand T rianon, where the King's Flowers exhibition starts. Set off to discover the paint ed flower ers before you go, smell the real ones in the gardens. The Salon Frais. As you can see, flowers were everywhere at Versailles Even in the paintings! Draw your portrait in the frame, like Mademoiselle de Blois, one of Louis XIV s daughters. The Cotelle Gallery. This astonishing gallery (whose numerous windows seem to let the gardens into the room) contains works by Jean Cotelle, a famous painter who illustrated the opulence of the gardens of Versailles under Louis XIV. Find the painting entitled "Vue du Grand Trianon prise des parterres, avec Flore et Zéphyr" (located just before the entrance into the Gardens Salon, at the end of the gallery). It shows Flora, goddess of flowers, and her husband Zephyrus, the god of the west wind. The Gardens Salon. In this room, built on the site of the former "perfume room" of the Porcelain Trianon(where rare plant species used to be cultivated), you will discover the backstage of the vast theatre formed by the gardens with flowers in the leading roles. Lychnis purpurea. rea This poetic name conceals a dense flower which resembles a carnation. ation. Polianthes tuberosa This flower, shaped like a slightly tubular bell, has a strong scent. L oreille d ours Primula auricula A lovely plant with rounded, downy leaves like bears' ears.

4 Enjoy the Palace with your family! Discover a programme featuring a we of visits and activities for children and families throughout the school holiday A different way of visiting the Estate and Palace of Versailles. Discovery trail answers: 1. Answers 1 and 2 2. Tuberoses. 3. Horseshoe. 4. China arches. 6. Because they symbolise the wind or rather the ancient Greeks' 4 winds: Boreas, the north wind; Eurus, the east wind; Notus, the south wind; and Zephyrus, the west wind. 7. The flowers were planted in pots! 8. Queen Marie-Antoinette, the wife of Louis XVI. From 22 October to 24 February 2014, visit the exhibition Le Nôtre in Perspectives es , the grand finale of the Year to Celebrate Le Nôtre! View the entire programme on Design/production: O. Charpentier, r, E. Coulon with A. Djarir (0) , w. Graphic design: D. Chedru RMN-Grand Pa alais (Pa alace of Versailles) / F. Raux N.Robert - Paris, Muséum national d histoire naturelle D.R./ RMN-Grand Pala ais (Pa alace of Versailles)/ Gérard Blot

5 y Stroll through h the Trianon n gardens 1 You'r e currently in the gardens. Place y ourself in the middle of the peristyle: it's the starting point of a discovery trail that t will enable you to admire the splendours of the estate. View over the Trianon gardens. These are French-style gardens, a style reaching formal perfection at Versailles les and characterised by its symmetry The Bottom Fountain. It is also called the Mirror Fountain: if you stand at its far end, you can see the arches of the Grand Trianon peristyle reflected in the still water. The fountain is decorated with two beautiful and impressive dragons, sculpted by Jean Hardy in Can you count the arches of the peristyle. How many are there? 3 Do you notice the slight slope running through the gardens? In your opinion, what is its purpose? 1) It is practical (to bring water to the fountains) 2) It is aesthetic (to give a feeling of space) 3) It is acoustic (it amplifies the sound of the fountains n and birdsongs) (Note: 2 answers are possible). 2 The upper parterre. e Here, the gardeners have planted the same flowers as in the time of the Sun King (many of them appear ar in paintings in the King's Flowers) : exhibition): bellflowers, lilies, stocks, s, sweet williams, dame's rocket, tuberoses, etc. There were so many at the time of Louis XIV and their scent was so powerful that some guests had to leave the palace because the ladies would get a headache! Which ones? Clue: their name starts with the twentieth letter of the alphabet. The Grand Canal. al This is one of the most beautiful views of the garden. From this point,,you look over the two long stairways and the Grand Canal, a gigantic cross-shaped pond covering 23 hectares : it enabled the King to get to the Grand Trianon by boat c Grand Trianon 7 yy y y 6 The Water Sideboard. This impressive fountain made of Carrara and Languedoc marble, was designed by architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart between 1700 and It includes statues of the sea god Neptune, and his wife Amphitrite. Find four faces with puffed cheeks. In your opinion, why are those figures blowing? 7 The eking's garden. In the time of Louis XIV, this garden fully deserved its name: enclosed in high hst stone walls (of which we can only see half, as the other half was brought down by Napoleon I), it was exclusively reserved for the King and therefore efore particularly well kept! Its borders weree made up of embedded ed dpo potted plants; when the King grew tired of them, they were edu dug up, moved or replaced Likewise, the decor used to be changed overnight, as if the garden were a theatre. Observe the garden in its current form: a detail in the flower beds recalls the time of Louis XIV. Which one? 4 The two curved staircases going down to the canal have a distinctive shape. Their shape is that of - a horseshoe -th the bottom of a basket - a gendarme's hat The lower parterre. You need ed to use your imagination to guess what these gardens looked like threeh hundred years ago. Here, there were jasmines and a few orange trees (but most of the rare trees were a little further away, near the Hall of Mirrors). Louis XIV loved citrus fruits: he therefore had orange trees planted outdoors quite afe feat at the time. As the winters were particularly harsh (France was going through a little ice age), the trees were protected by removable greenhouses. Petit Trianon 8 a 8 The Petit Trianon. Louis XV, the great-grandson of Louis XIV, is behind the construction of the Petit Trianon which was initially just a garden: indeed, Louis XV found the King's garden too small for him. He thus had another one made on the other side of the walls, comprising a botanical garden and a menagerie. Then he had this charming gp palace built for his mistress, Madame de Pompadour. The name of the Petit Trianon is generally associated with a famous queen (for whom the Hamlet was built a little further along, and who was behind the ec creation of a wilder, English-style garden). Who is it? In what country were the first orange trees cultivated? Clue: it's the Middle Kingdom