THE GARDENS, THE FOUNTAINS AND THE GRAND TRIANON
The first gardens of Versailles--those
that gave a modest setting to the villa
constructed for Louis XIII, comprised a few
parterres of flowers and shrubs bounded by
well trimmed box hedges, and two groves
planted on each side of the _Allee Royale_.
To Jacques Boyceau is accredited the first
plan of the gardens of Versailles, but Andre
Le Notre greatly amplified and improved
the original scheme. Le Notre's
achievements at Versailles gave him rank as the
most distinguished landscape gardener of
his time, and of all time.
Besides the luxurious and symmetrical
gardens at Versailles, he originated the
designs of those at the royal houses at Trianon,
Saint-Cloud, Merly, Clagny, Chantilly and
the Tuileries. The Parterre of the Tiber
at Fontainebleau also added to his high
reputation. For a long period the style of
garden perfected by Le Notre was taken as a
model and imitated throughout Europe. In
1678 he went to Italy on a mission for the
King, who desired him to make researches
there. While at Rome the eminent artist
from France was commissioned to plan the
gardens of the Quirinal, the Vatican and
the villas Ludovisi and Albani. The
Elector of Brandenburg summoned him to
design the garden at Oranienburg; Kensington
Park in London is still another example of
Le Notre's skill. In his genius were
reflected the qualities that distinguished the
art of his century: regularity of design,
harmony, dignity and richness of materials.
Louis XIV had an enduring admiration for
the work and character of the Chief
Gardener--a man at all times honest, retiring,
and inspired by enthusiasm for his calling.
We are told by a French chronicler that
"when Le Notre had traced out his ideas, he
brought Louis XIV to the spot to judge the
distribution of the principal parts of their
ornamentation. He began with two grand
basins which are on the terrace in front
of the chateau, with their magnificent
decorations. He explained next his idea of
the double flight of stairs, which is opposite
the center of the palace, adorned with
yew-trees and with statues, and gave in detail
all the pieces that were to enrich the space
that it included. He passed then to the
_Allee du Tapis Vert_, and to that grand place
where we see the head of the canal, of which
he described the size and shape, and at the
extremities of whose arms he placed the
Trianon and the Menagerie. At each of
the grand pieces whose position Le Notre
marked, and whose future beauties he
described, Louis XIV interrupted him, saying,
'Le Notre, I give you twenty thousand
francs.' This magnificent approbation was
so frequently repeated that it annoyed Le
Notre, whose soul was as noble and
disinterested as that of his master was
generous. At the fourth interruption he stopped,
and said brusquely to the King, 'Sire, Your
Majesty shall hear no more. I shall ruin you.'"
In 1695 the King ennobled Le Notre and
bestowed upon him the Order of St. Michael.
Later, Le Notre presented to his sovereign
his collection of pictures and bronzes, for
which he had previously received an offer
of 80,000 francs, or about $16,000. This
collection was placed in one of the King's
intimate rooms among the rarest objects in
his possession. On occasion, when about to
make a tour of the gardens, Louis liked to
command a rolling chair similar to his own
for the aged Le Notre. Discussing new
projects, appraising those that were finished,
they made the promenade together.
One of the first garden decorations
undertaken was the Grotto of Thetis, a green
alcove beautified by exquisite marbles and a
fountain that stirred the muse of La
Fontaine to sing. This graceful conceit,
dominated by Apollo seated among the nymphs
of Venus, was destroyed when Mansard
built the north wing of the palace; the
groups were removed to adorn other sites.
While the vast pleasure-house was in course
of construction, each year marked the
creation of new fountains and woods. In 1664,
the _Parterre du Nord_ was laid out below the
windows of the north wing; in 1667 and
1668 the _Theatre d'Eau_, the Maze, the Star,
the Grand Canal, the Avenue of Waters,
the Cascade of Diana and the Pyramid on
the North Parterre, and the Green Carpet
(_Tapis-Vert_) spread out in view of the
windows of the rear facade of the palace. In
1670 and the three succeeding years the
low-lying _Marais_ (fen) was constructed next to
the Parterre of the Fountain of Latona, to
meet the wishes of the King's favorite,
Madame de Montespan. While she was in
power "people spoke of the _Marais_ as one
of the marvels of the gardens, but it was
undoubtedly considered less wonderful after
her fall," a writer comments. "In the
center stood a large oak surounded by an
artificial marsh, bordered with reeds and grasses,
and containing plants and a number of white
swans. From the swans, from the reeds and
grasses, and from the leaves and branches of
the oak, thousands of little jets of water
leaped forth, falling like fine rain upon the
masses of natural vegetation that flourished
amid the artificial. At the sides of the
bosquet there were two tables of marble, on
which a collation was served when the
marquise came to her grove to see the waters
play. In 1704 the King ordered Mansard
to destroy the _Marais_ and transform the
bosquet into the Baths of Apollo."
In 1674 the Royal Isle came into being;
and the next year the Arch of Triumph and
the Three Fountains, between the Avenue
of Waters and the chateau. In the thicket
of the Three Fountains were "an immense
number of small jets of water, leaping from
basins at the sides and forming an arch of
water overhead, beneath which one could
walk without being wet. . . . The Arch of
Triumph filled the end of the bosquet; it
was placed on an estrade with marble steps,
and was preceded by four lofty obelisks of
gilded iron in which the water leaped and
fell in sheets of crystal. The fountain
itself was composed of three porticos of gilded
iron, with large jets in the center of each,
while seven jets leaped up from the basins
above the porticos, and all the waters rushed
down over the steps of marble. In addition,
twenty-two vases at the sides of the bosquet
threw jets into the air. 'Without having
seen it,' says Blondel, 'it is impossible to
imagine the wonderful effect produced by this
decoration.'"
The Orangery was the chief work begun
in 1678, and in the following year the superb
Basin of Neptune and the Lake of the Swiss
Guards were commenced. In the years
1680-1685 workmen were busy digging, laying
pipes, planting and decorating the _Salle de
Bal_, or outdoor salon of festivities, the
Parterre of Fountains, and the Colonnade,
where amid marble columns and balustrades
the Court often came to sup and make merry.
In all, fourteen hundred gushing fountain
jets animated the gardens. Le Notre, the
author of these amazing water-works, died
in the year 1700, when almost ninety years
of age. Saint-Simon declared him justly
renowned in that he had given to France
gardens of so unique and ravishing a design
that they completely outran in beauty the
famous gardens of Italy. European
landscape decorators counted it part of their
education to journey to France for the
purpose of studying the handiwork of the supreme craftsman.
An illustrated guide, printed at
Amsterdam in 1682, contains the following quaint
description of the Labyrinth, or Maze:
"Courteous Reader," it begins, "it is
sufficiently known how eminently France and
especially the Royal Court doth excel above
other places with all manner of delights.
The admirable faire Buildings and Gardens
with all imaginable ornaments and
delightful spectacles represent to the eye of the
beholder such abundant and rich objects as
verily to ravish the spectator. Amongst all
these works there is nothing more admirable
and praiseworthy than the Royal Garden at
Versailles, and, in it, the Labyrinth. Other
representations are commonly esteemed
because they please the eye, but this because it
not only delights the ear and eye, but also
instructs and edifies. This Labyrinth is
situated in a wood so pleasant that Daedalus
himself would have stood amazed to behold
it. The Turnings and Windings, edged on
both sides with green cropt hedges, are not
at all tedious, by reason that at every hand
there are figures and water-works
representing the mysterious and instructive fables
of Aesop, with an explanation of what Fable
each Fountain representeth carved on each
in black marble. Among all the Groves in
the Park at Versailles the Labyrinth is the
most to be recommended, as well for the
novelty of the design as the number and
diversity of the fountains that with
ingenuity and _naivete_ express the philosophies, of
the sage Aesop. The animals of colored
bronze are so modeled that they seem truly
to be in action. And the streams of water
that come from their mouths may be
imagined as bearing the words of the fable they
represent. There are a great number of
fountains, forty in all, each different in
subject, and of a style of decoration that blends
with the surrounding verdure. At the
entrance to the Maze is a bronze statue of
Aesop himself--the famous Mythologist of Phrygia."
[Illustration: The Fountain of Versailles]
To appreciate the engineering skill of the
directors of fountain construction at
Versailles it must be remembered that it was
from an arid plateau that hundreds of
streams were made to spring from the earth.
Thousands of laborers were employed to lay
beneath the surface of the ground a net-work
of canals and aqueducts to receive the tribute
of water-courses directed hither from distant
sources. The waters were finally pumped
into immense reservoirs adroitly dissembled
on the roofs of buildings overlooking the
park. From these tanks a maze of pipes
carried the water to thickets, grottoes,
basins, fountains and canals. Nothing could
surpass the ingenuity with which all this was
contrived. The play of water directed to
the Basin of the Mirrors reappeared later
in the Baths of Apollo and the Fountain of
the Dragon. Flowing in turn among
successive pools and ornamental groups--branching
hither and yon in the gardens, the
stream attained its full display in the most
majestic effect of all, the Basin of Neptune.
"Here again is the hand of Le Notre,"
remarks James Farmer, author of
"Versailles and the Court Under Louis XIV." "The
basin of Neptune, called at first the
Grand Cascades, was constructed from 1679
to 1684, in accordance with his designs. This
immense basin, surrounded on the side
toward the chateau by a handsome wall of
stone, and on the other by an amphitheater
of turf and trees,--a vast half-circle, in the
center of which stands a marble statue of
Renown, is simple in conception and imposing
from its size. The richly carved lead vases
which adorn the wall were gilded under the
Grand Monarch, and each throws a jet of
water to a great height. Dangeau tells us
that His Majesty saw the waters play here
for the first time on the 17th of May, 1685,
and that he was quite content. However,
Neptune had not then appeared in the basin
that now bears his name; for the large
groups of Neptune, the Ocean, and the
Tritons, which ornament the base of the wall at
present, were not put in place until 1739, in
the reign of Louis XV. This majestic basin
at the foot of the _Allee d'Eau_ is a striking
contrast to Perrault's ugly Pyramid at the
head of it. Le Notre knew what was fitting
for the gardens of a Sun King."
A vast avenue, interrupted by many fair
reaches of water, stretched its level length
before the windows of the Grand Gallery.
It was prolonged to the outer bounds of the
gardens by the Grand Canal, on whose
gleaming surface the sky was mirrored in
the dusk of dawn, the golden glow of noon,
or the sunset of declining day. This has ever
been the supreme view from the palace of
Versailles. Standing at one of the great
windows of the Hall of Mirrors, the _Galerie
des Glaces_, it often pleased the ruler of
France to admire the Fountain of Latona,
casting its fifty jets of water from the
circular pool below the twin terraces. Beyond,
the Green Carpet glowed in its emerald
beauty among the clear waters of Versailles.
The furthest fountain that met the eye was
the Basin of Apollo, with its plunging
bronze horses. In the outer park, that held
the Trianon and the Menagerie, the royal
gaze beheld the cross-shaped Canal which so
often, in the revels that marked the first part
of this reign, bore gay Venetian barges
between the scintillating lights and fireworks
that illumined the shore. At the right side,
still looking from the rear of the chateau, the
King's beauty-loving eyes dwelt upon the
North Terrace, with its rich growth of
greenery, on the graceful Fountains of the
Pyramid and the Dragon, and above all on
the magnificently soaring fountains of
Neptune's Basin. At his left were the Terrace
of Flowers, the two stairways that flanked
the Orangery, chief work of Mansard and
especial pride of Louis, and the lake in the
small park named for the Swiss Guards.
Nowhere, it is safe to say, could a place be
found that embraced so many beautiful
garden views at one time.
Bordering the avenue that Le Notre
opened through the primitive groves where
Louis XIII once came to hunt--on either
side the broad lane of trees and leaping
waters--groves were laid out, varied in
design and decoration--delectable retreats
where lovers, traitors, diplomats might vow
and plot, beneath the discreet ears of marble
nymphs and goddesses.
Many of the groups and marble figures
that beautified the walks and bowers of
Versailles were conceived by the gifted
Lebrun. Among his designs were the Four
Seasons, the Four Quarters of the Globe,
the Four Kinds of Poetry (Heroic, Satiric,
Lyric and Pastoral), the Four Periods of
the Day (Morning, Noon, Twilight,
Night), the Four Elements (Earth, Air,
Fire, Water), the Four Temperaments
(Phlegmatic, Melancholy, Coleric and
Sanguine). Mythological figures, vases
ornamented with bas-reliefs of Louis XIV and
great men of his reign, fountain groups
representing the chief rivers of France,
water nymphs, sportive babies, beasts in
combat--sculpture massive, graceful,
grotesque--all added their individual lure to
the dells, the walks and the terraces of the
magic palace.
Tile-workers from Flanders, marble-cutters
from the Pyrenees, Italy and Greece,
masons, sculptors, castmen, metal-workers,
bronze colorists--innumerable artisans
trained to meet the exacting tastes of that
Silver Age of Art--lent their skill to the
construction of fountains whose ingenuity and
variety have set a standard for all time for
the makers of kingly estates. A hundred
sculptors of highest reputation were engaged
to model groups, statues, busts and low
reliefs for the Versailles park, under the
supervision of Lebrun and Mignard.
Ladies of the Court sometimes claimed
the ear of the compliant Andre Le Notre
to suggest fancies that he graciously evolved
with greenery and marbles, with tinkling
streams and bright-winged birds.
The new Orangery, begun by Mansard
on plans submitted by Le Notre, consumed
nearly ten years in building, from 1678 to
1687. Twin stairways, one hundred and
three steps high, united the South Parterre
with the Parterre of the Orangery. The
shelter erected for the protection of
hundreds of orange trees, which often
blossomed and came to fruit, contained a main
gallery and two lateral galleries, lighted by
twelve large windows. In the center stood
a huge statue of Louis the Great. During
warm weather the tubs containing the
orange trees were set out on the Orange
Parterre between the lofty stone stairways.
The Orangery was one of the favorite
retreats of the King. Besides the royal family,
only those were permitted to stroll among
the fragrant trees that had been granted
special permission to do so.
It was in 1688, after more than a quarter
of a century's labor, the sacrifice of hundreds
of lives, and the expenditure of over fifty
million francs, that the splendid parks and
gardens with their buildings and fountains
were finally achieved. Le Notre's
successors rearranged some of the fountains and
groves; others were renamed. In
1739-1740 there were placed near the Basin of
Neptune three groups that still lend
adornment to this spot. This was the final
attempt to decorate the gardens during
the reign of the House of the Bourbons.
Strangers from every clime marveled at the
beauty of the fountains. The ambassadors
from the Court of Siam were astounded
"that so much of bronze, marble and gilded
metal could find place in a single garden." A
member of the train of the Ambassador
from England described the park, in 1698,
as "a whole province traced by avenues,
paths, canals, and ornamented in all ways
possible by masterpieces of ancient and
modern art."
The avenues were of white sand, with
grassy by-ways on either side bordered by
elms and iron railings six or seven feet
high. Beyond these were thickets and
niches where statues, sculptured urns and
benches of white carved stone were placed.
Occasional archways of green led down dim
arbors to new enchantments. Here and
there were round or star-shaped retreats
whose carpets of grass were sprayed by
murmuring fountains. In each recess were
marble pedestals, busts, a long bench that
invited repose.
Trees of mature growth were brought in
great numbers from distant parts of France
and Flanders. Despite difficulties of
transportation, twenty-five thousand trees were
carried on wagons from Artois alone. The
forests of Normandy were denuded of
yew-trees; from the mountains of _Dauphine_ the
King's emissaries brought _epicea_ trees, and
India sent chestnut trees for the adornment
of Versailles.
Among these groves Louis delighted to
promenade in the evening, sometimes, in the
_belle saison_, until midnight. Often he went
on foot, but oftener in a light carriage drawn
by a team of small black horses that had
been given him by the Duke of Tuscany.
THE GRAND TRIANON
This palace decorated with pilasters of
pink marble was not the first building chosen
by the Grand Monarch to occupy the site
at the end of the north arm of the canal of
Versailles. Ambitious to extend his domain,
the King had purchased and razed a shabby
little village named Trianon, and on its
somewhat dreary site erected for Madame
de Montespan a villa so unpretentious as to
arouse the comment of courtiers accustomed
to the ruler's profligacy at Versailles. The
vases of faience that shone among the figures
of gilded lead, the walk ornamented with
Dutch tiles, the cornices of blue and white
stucco, in the Chinese fashion, gave the little
house the name, the Porcelain Trianon.
Poets called it the Palace of Flora because
of the wondrous gardens where rare flowers
perfumed the pleasaunce in summer. Built
in 1670, probably on designs of Francois
Le Vau, the Porcelain Trianon was
demolished toward the end of the year 1686.
There remains to-day nothing to remind
us of the Villa of Flowers but the gardens
and a fountain for horses near the canal,
where a terrace planted with beautiful trees
overlooks it. Here Louis XIV often came
in a gondola on summer evenings, when the
Marble Trianon had replaced the Trianon
of Porcelain. The latter's demolition was
inspired, no doubt, by the urging of the new
favorite, Madame de Maintenon, who found
distasteful this reminder of another's
supremacy in the King's affections.
Moreover, this site continued to please
the King for he recognized its convenience
to the palace, and its accessibility by barge
or carriage. He determined to build in the
midst of these enchanting woods and blooms
a dwelling less formal than the one at
Versailles, smaller even than the one at Marly,
but more habitable than the porcelain
_maisonette_--a retreat, in short, where, without
wearisome ceremony, he could retire with
certain favored ones of his Court and while
the summer hours away.
The accounts of the King's treasurer
show that the building of the edifice and the
gardens proceeded rapidly during the year
1687. By the end of November the royal
master found his new residence "well
advanced and very beautiful." Soon after the
New Year he heard the opera "Roland"
performed here, and was pleased to dine for
the first time within the new walls. He gave
orders on recurring visits for the embellishment
of the summer palace. The Trianon
of marble and porphyry, "the most graceful
production of Mansard," was finally
completed in the autumn of 1688. But the work
of decoration went on under the hands of a
horde of artists almost until the end of the
monarch's reign.
Says an English author of a century ago:
"In the midst of all the austerities imposed
upon him by the ambition of Madame de
Maintenon, the King went to Trianon to
inhale the breath of the flowers which he had
planted there, of the rarest and most
odoriferous kind. On the infrequent occasions
when the Court was permitted to accompany
him thither to share in his evening collation,
it was a beautiful spectacle to see so many
charming women wandering in the midst of
the flowers on the terrace rising from the
banks of the canal. The air was so rich
with the mingled perfume of violets, orange
flowers, jessamines, tuberoses, hyacinths
and narcissuses that the King and his
visitors were sometimes obliged to fly from the
overpowering sweets. The flowers in the
parterres were arranged in a thousand
different figures, which were constantly
changed, so that one might have supposed
it to be the work of some fairy, who, passing
over the gardens, threw upon them each time
a new robe aglow with color."
In the salons and copses where Louis the
Great basked in the somewhat chary smiles
of his latest (and last) favorite, his
grandson, the fifteenth of his name, was to install
the fascinating Madame de Pompadour.
The very apartments once dedicated to the
use of Madame de Maintenon, and later to
Queen Marie Leczinska, became the living-rooms
of the reigning mistress of the heart
of Louis XV.
The Revolution spared the Grand Trianon.
But under pretext of restoring it and
rendering it, according to their tastes, more
habitable, Napoleon First and Louis
Philippe spared it less. The last king of France
commanded in 1836 the architectural changes
necessary to convert the Trianon into the
royal residence, in place of the chateau of
Versailles. He stayed here for the last time
in the winter of 1848, before departing for
Dreux. But, despite changes and mutilations,
the facade and the interior of the
rose-colored palace retain the stamp of the
Great King who sponsored the Gallery of
Mirrors, the Antechamber of the Bull's Eye,
and the Chapel at Versailles.