Yesterday was a full museum day. We were covering anywhere between Louis XIII and Louis XV in terms of both architectural and interior decorative styles. Lumped all together, the Rococo, or as preferred term in France, the Rocaille style. First we visited the "hotel", meaning private palace or chateau, of the Prince and Princess de Soubise, which was later the house of the Guise family, who were very influential in French history, especially the Revolution. We were able to see the rooms of the hotel and hear the magical story of the Princess of Soubise.
After the hotel, we headed in the afternoon to a rather odd museum, the Museum of the Hunt and Nature. It was...weird. The curator that gave us a tour was very nice, and had really great explanations for the layout of the museum, but a museum dedicated to hunting seemed a little out of the norm for kids who spend half the week in the Louvre. Still, the museum was really interactive, and did have some beautiful pieces.
Thirdly, we went to another museum, the Museum Cognacq Jay. It's a lovely little museum with a collection of 18th century stuff. By stuff, I mean paintings, furniture, porcelains, jeweled boxes, tapestries, etc. The house that the museum occupies is also a 16th century building, so all the rooms and hallways are quite cozy. While it was a bit too hot and too late in the day after a lot of class for most of us, we had the cutest tour guide, and the pieces were really wonderful! It was a perfect little museum to go explore by yourself one afternoon, especially if you know anything about 18th century art, or just really like it. To me, the inspirations behind the styles and designs is fascinating! Who knew that the main inspiration behind our porcelain chatchkis was from China? And that early on?
So, in the evening when we finally made it home in the sweltering heat of the little-air-conditioned Paris, we all nearly collapsed.
And then today was THE Day. The big day that we had been warned about and prepared for since we arrived. We went to Versailles today. We started out very early, leaving the train station for Versailled at 8:30 AM. We finished the inside of the museum by 11:30, and were outside most of the rest of the day. We had audioguides inside, and lectures for the facade, the gardens, the Petit Trainon, and the Queen's Estate and Hamlet. The palace was pretty much unbelievable, like everyone always says, and I remembered some, but not much, from the first time I had been ten years ago. I do have to admit that everything seemed much smaller and let mind-blowing than my memories, but it could very well be my gain in experience and what I have to compare it to. The gardens I remembered quite well. We explored just about every corner of the property today, mainly because we had two professors with us instead of one, so it wasn't a usual day. The professor we've had for the last three weeks taught in the morning and through lunch. And our second, new, professor joined us and taught in the afternoon and evening. She is going to finish out the program, now that we are moving into the modern era of French history. Thankfully our cute TA will stay will us the whole time! :)
The palace was amazing in not only its sheer size, but the variation from one area to another. Between the finely decorated, ritualized bedroom of King Louis, to the fake Norman picturesque village created by Marie Antionette, Versailles really is like a whole world encapsulated. I can understand the people, and even courtiers, resentment and feelings that led to the revolution. On the other hand, it would be amazing to live like that!
Anyways, now that I have a bit of a tan (even after sunscreen) and very tired feet, I will retire for the night and attempt to catch up on my daily journals. Tomorrow we are off to the Louvre again for some Neoclassicism and I know we are looking at Delacroix paintings. Everything seems to be going so fast all of a sudden! I think this week we covered five centuries. Yikes! After class I'm headed to Mont Saint Michel, to try once again to get out of Paris for the weekend. The group is going to Nice, so even if I miss my trains again, at least it will be peaceful here. I'm very excited for Mont Saint-Michel. I remember (I think) really vividly Mt. St. Michel and thought it was stunning last time, so we'll see my new impression. I can't believe I only have two weeks of class left! I really can't. I am, however, starting to feel that I'm actually in Paris. It's beginning to be real for most of us. It's actually almost feeling like home, and we've begun calling the apartment/hotel "home". Navigation isn't a problem, we all can now more or less get by with our French, and we all have our favorite places. I have to say that I don't really want to leave Paris. Like, ever. I'm thinking going for a doctorate in art history that involves French art would be just to my liking! We'll see...
But for now, bonsoir! Here are some of today's photos and also photos of cool stuff I saw yesterday:
