Reading Material: The Memoirs of Madame Vigee Le Brun

Life can be quite crazy as an artist, which is why Lady Artist Vigee Le Brun has such great tales to tell! The Memoirs Of Madame Vigee Lebrun is a must have for your bookshelf, a great bedtime read. She jumps right into things, through letters to a friend.

I find that through her writing she is rather easy to connect to, the memoirs begin with her childhood. This is only a brief way of introduction, it explains how she became so fascinated with art, and it moves right along through her excellent opportunities in the art world. Before you know it you are making trips to the court of Versailles!

She had many encounters with our favorite nobles, and amusing stories to tell! She had to deal with a pain in the butt husband, and mingle with fellow artists. She became great friends with Marie Antoinette and had the low down on her circle. There is an interesting chapter on Catherine II (Vigee did some travel!) Did I mention she LOVED Amsterdam? When she discusses Holland I am itching to book plane tickets! Here is an excerpt from her memoirs:

"About this time I also painted the Princess de Lamballe. Without being actually pretty, she appeared so at a little distance; she had small features, complexion of dazzling freshness, superb blond locks and was generally elegant in person. The unhappy end of this unfortunate Princess is sufficiently well known and so is the devotion to which she fell a victim. For in 1793, when she was at Turin entirely out of harm's way, she returned to France upon learning that the Queen was in danger..."

I got this title from Amazon.com

Not So Blind Affair....

What classy dame found these eyes hard to resist?

What Movies do you Enjoy?

Heather suggested posting for topic - movies that involve our favorite century! There are my obvious choices, the psychological costume feast for the eyes, Marie Antoinette and the Hollywood take on Versailles, Marie Antoinette.

But overall the scope is wide - delightful movies, costumes, acting and soundtracks - and I want to hear all of your favorites, opinions and non-favorites too. I need a movie to watch this week so suggestions are most welcome!

Here are some I cherish on the old DVD rack:

Latest addition, Ridicule

Femme of the Week: Duchesse de Mazarin

Louise Félicité Victoire d'Aumont, Duchesse de Mazarin, at birth, was blessed by three fairies - Wealth, Duty and Ill-luck. Hot stories during those days included tales of folly and mishaps falling upon this duchesse. It made great gossip!

Let's start to discuss this party girl by explaining how busy she was. She had titles to wear and she wore them well: Louise d'Aumont, Duchesse de Mazarin, Mayenne and La Meilleraye, Countess of Ferrette, Belfort, Thann, Rosemont, Baroness of Altkirch, .....The list is too long to list! I am going to refer to her simply as the Unlucky Duchesse de Mazarin.

Born in Paris 2 October 1759, Louise grew up there and was married there in 1771 to Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco. Her family was one of Frances richest. Marie Antoinette did not care for the duchesse, as she found she was rather tactless, she was no 'delicate beauty.' She was full figured, and a bit over the top. Being over the top in the 18th century is not all bad, but this unfortunate duchesse always had the worst of luck.

At one dinner party she threw it was her ingenious idea to have a massive pie presented on the table in front of her 60 guests. The fun? She arranged for 100 little birds to be baked within the crust. So after the best bakers are hired and all is set, the pie is placed on the table - guest look around - um ok?

The duchesse gave the go ahead and the pie was opened, a spell of small birds fly out! Birds EVERYWHERE. They did not fly out the windows but circled around in total chaotic confusion. They sat in the elaborate poufs of her lady guests and could not be dealt with. Finally she had to ask her guests to leave as the pests would not!

In a more marvelous scheme, the duchesse planned a fabulous winter ball. Money was no object, of course. She had mirrors installed that went from floor to ceiling, and had a shady country retreat complete with shrubbery built into the far end of the room. The scene was then separated by large sheets of glass as if it were an outside world inside.

Everything was planned as she wanted. There would be a shocking moment when it all came together - she hired an actress from the Opera to play the role of a shepherdess singing to her dog and a flock of snowy sheep - in this enclosed (indoor) pastoral landscape. What entertainment!

Misfortune struck again, and before she could signal for the actress to appear with her dog and flock, the sheep grew agitated. They panicked, and ran towards the room, breaking through the glass into the ballroom! The animals were most likely very confused by the dark flickering lights, the people everywhere and all the mirrors, and they ran into dancers, knocked guest over and broke some mirrors. Needless to say many ladies fainted!

What Would Marie Do?

It has come to my attention that a friend of mine is involving herself with a truly scandalous man who could ruin her good reputation. I fear everyone can see this man's true character except the subject in question. Am I being truly unfashionable by interfering in my friend's affair? Would it better to let occurrences run their course despite the possibility of her heart and reputation being tarnished? Or is this a case where I must interfere?

Yours,
Dumbfounded in Durham

Dear Dumbfounded in Durham,

You are stuck in the ever uncomfortable classic foolish friend scenario. Let's face it, Marie Antoinette had a good heart but she could be quite stubborn about ideas and opinions she formed especially on people. If a close friend or loved one was in fact becoming involved with a man off ill repute, Antoinette would let it be known!

Always friendly and courteous to her dearest friends, something would be said in private. Whether or not the friend would take queenly advice, is dependent on their own tastes. But if the relationship continued Antoinette most likely would not be involved in any way with the fellow. No dinners, parties or visiting hours would be spent on him.

Devoted to the friend, hopefully she would see that the choice was not in her best interest. You did not choose him so you have no obligation to entertain him. Without being rude, gracefully avoid the indecent fellow without letting him waste your time. With due time she will see the red flags, and realize friends make incredible character guides!

Answers based on noted behavior of the Queen herself - with room for fun interpretation of course! Want a question answered in light of Antoinette? Send it on to me! Got a question that needs Georgiana's perspective? Send those along to Heather!

Take Some Tea

Anglomanie left all sorts of wonderful English delights in France, and particularly to the court. In some instances women would sell diamonds to purchase expensive English style beads, to keep up with fashion of course! A major trend that hit was the pleasure of taking tea.

Many ladies would spend their evenings in, having tea and enjoying each others sober company. A particular service was Devonshire Tea, which we can safely assume Georgiana spent many a day enjoying. Devonshire Tea is also known as Cream Tea. When enjoying this service, gather your closest friends, prepare scones, have a plate of clotted cream and a small bowl of jam for spreading, and a pot of tea to share!

The Progress of Love: The Meeting

Welcome back to Louveciennes, and let me introduce The Meeting. This was the second work in Fragonard's group of paintings commissioned by Madame du Barry at her pavilion, which we call The Progress of Love.

The scene is set in another lush pleasure garden, where nature overtakes architecture. The trees, with their full and knotted branches, suggest both movement and a concealment. It seems so easy to conceal a tryst within the English garden foliage....

The Meeting, at first glance, might be taken for a "storming of the citadel" scene. The young man used an unnecessary ladder to scale the short wall where an innocent lady is unattended. (An A for effort?) But the more popular theme at the time was a bit more risqué than the old medieval citadel. Here we have a planned meeting among the garden. Both parties have premeditated the arrangement and we just happen to walk in on them at this undisclosed time.

It is not, however, us who catches them! A rustling in the leaves, and maybe some low banter grabs our ladies attention. Just as her, dare I say...lover, is approaching, someone else approaches from the left! That old catholic guilt (or possibly desire to avoid scandal) kicks in and we see the girl in a sheer moment of panic. She moves to tell the boy to stop and be quiet, and looks over her shoulder to see if the approaching voices can see her.

The boy stops immediately and looks to see what is happening. He is caught at such an awkward moment of movement that he crouches half over the wall not knowing whether to fall back, over or just freeze like a statue. Of course the statues are above and we have Venus and Cupid. The direction Venus looks corresponds to the direction of the unexpected visitors!

If you remember from last time, The Pursuit was painted to be displayed on the far wall of Madame du Barry's room, next to the large glass doorway to the garden. The Meeting was painted to sit to the right of The Pursuit. So, in effect we have two large paintings of delightful scenes that are set in pleasure gardens. Between them are glass doors to the actual garden creating an illusion of a large open wall.

The idea that someone, uninvited, is intruding on the couple is heightened by the placement of the doorway to the garden. Are we the intruders as we approach the glass doors? Or! At this moment the old Comte de Foufou is walking through the glass doors from the garden! How embarrassing, now it would appear that he is the intruder! Or a final scenario... now that we have seen the risqué rendez-vous that almost happened perhaps we can expect to wander in on more of these meetings when we enter the garden. Better yet....perhaps we can count on having a rendez-vous in the garden!

The Progress of Love: The Pursuit

Do you love your toilette?

I stumbled on this lovely washroom set to update any room into a fabulous 18th century inspired escape! The design is so period, it is called Antoinette, and the simple colors would work in any room and you can spice it up with splashes of your favorite colors- whether they be insipid blue or pink! Even rich deep colors would look great!

My favorite thing about this set is that every piece has a different image on it! How rococo! The pastoral scenes are great, and the tissue box has a winter scene. The shower rings are all different and the bath towels are too fun! I also have to say that I will probably get that rug because its so classic. You only need a few pieces to set your room off!

There are only a few pieces left though :o/ and I think some are on sale. If you decorate your room with the set you have to send images! I should do a 'Readers Guide to 18th century Living' post! Let me know what you guys have done at home!

Fashionable Lady: Rules and Guidelines

Women of fashion had very strict rules to stick with, if they wanted to keep their beloved title. Their life was ruled by what constituted a fashionable lady, and it was not all shopping for lace.
Well actually it was a lot of shopping for lace!

First things first, to be fashionable you needed to be up on the latest trends. Yes basic information right? But even people who think they are tres fashionable can fall behind on trends and that is just embarrassing. Remember Kenley and how embarrassing it was for her not being in on what's hot?

If if you were caught in last weeks and god forbid last month's style you would be laughed at! It was fun to see who fell behind in style and even more exciting when you obtained the new style first. So step one, be on top of your game and at the boutique first.

Marie Antoinette was always first to sport the latest in France, likewise Georgiana would pioneer new styles in England. The two even sent gifts to each other of serious fashion breakthroughs when discovered. A fashionable lady would look to Antoinette and Georgiana for a guide as to what to wear.

Once you managed to see what the queen was wearing sadly you could not run down to the shops and pick it up. Sometimes a latest style would not be sold to anyone (even the highest ladies of rank) for up to a week after it was premiered.

What else do you have to do to be Fashionable? This may seem silly now, but go get a small dog! All the fashionable ladies carried a small dog around with them. Sometimes in the rush of mornings a lady might be whisked off in her carriage while still in a daze, and if she forgot her dog, a second carriage would be sent to fetch him so she would have the puppy for the days events.

Requirements for a fashionable dog? Small, always white and at least, mostly white and usually has curly hair.

Last but not least, fashionable ladies were known as Lamps. Etiquette demanded that they did not rise before 11am. Later was not unusual. It made sense, considering the late night parties and gambling.

Breakfast? One cup of chocolate in bed!

Be Back in a Few Due to Vapours

I found myself suffering a sever case of vapours last night and of course I could not find my smelling salts anywhere! It was quite unfortunate! I could not even find a bit of snuff! I will be laying low this week. O.k. I don't have a snuff box but yesterday I sure wished I had! This one is particularly fabulous and if I had one I would want it designed along these lines.

This snuff box dates mid 18th century and is French. The artist is Pierre-François-Mathis de Beaulieu, and it is made out of golds in different shades, and enameling. It features a portrait of Catherine II, a lady who had it going on! Perfect imagery to kind of bring you to your senses when suffering a bout.

Along the side panels of the snuff box are more imagery to bring you back to earth, and snap you out of it. They serve a dual purpose, represent dear Catherine's great qualities, and to remind us of our own inner qualities. Four personifications line the sides.

Strength of spirit. This is important because you need to remember that you are in control here! And you are not crazy - no matter what that tart Fanny says!

Perpetual logic. Très important. You do not attend the best salons in Paris for nothing! You are wise amongst all modern day topics and your friends think so too!

Justice. Of course ! You don't deserve this spell, so surely it will go away soon, once the higher ups realize that.

Wisdom. Need I say more? You know these feelings and you know just what they are! Time to get a grip open the box and get through this!

Head down and power through ladies, there is a pastoral themed ball tonight!

Paris Travel: To Cab or Not to Cab?

If you were visiting Paris in the 18th century, you would be in luck! It was possible to navigate the city by purchasing maps and following the clearly labeled streets. (Street names were carved into the buildings on corners.) Of course it was not a very wise idea to walk, as it was dangerous and dusty. The economical way to travel would be renting a cab!

Cabs were great because they were a steal at 1 livre 10 sous/hour! The cab system in Paris was pretty well pulled together. Every cab was numbered. There was a central station where you could go i you lost items on the ride, and they were usually there! necessaires, feathers, corsets...

The only cons of a cab were that they were not very safe. One might get that rush in their stomachs wondering "did I make the right choice" after the cab has taken off. If you are not second guessing whether or not you should have rented a coach, and a little danger doesn't bother you, then the only other thing you would have to get past is the lack of cleanliness! (grimy!) And I am not talking dust here. These cabs were infamous for being just filthy. But cheap and quick. Your call!

A Collection of 18th Century Inspired Things

I have received several links from you, to really neat items for sale inspired by the age of Louis XVI. So I thought I would put them together for you to wander through and pick and choose what you want! Because sometimes you just have to have them!

This is a really pretty 'double charm' locket by Lunestar, inspired by Marie Antoinette. I love lockets, but I don't seem to have any right now!

The next products win for packaging and style!
"Lip balm goes luxe with life-changing pocket-sized glass pots by TokyoMilk. Open up the royal, sparkly packaging to discover dreamy, delicious flavors."

Let Them Eat Cake has you floating on a cloud of vanilla cake. Where else would you want to be??
oh Heather....
Petit Fours is a rich dessert mix with a drop of coconut.
Song in D Minor Parfum , White orchid, orange flower, gardenia and amber crushed and distilled to perfection. I found these items listed on Amazon at really good prices....so if they sound good, hurry and get one!
Let Them Eat Cake Parfum, Sugar cane, coconut milk, vanilla orchid and white musk crushed and distilled to perfection. yum!
The Pink Room - Parfum no. 1 Romantically packaged in Rococo Pink and Gold, with a nod to Marie Antoinette. "Imagine Marcel Proust having tea with his aunt in the garden at about four. As the sun becomes more gentle, the old roses start to give off their bouquet Lime cuts across, taking away the cloying sweetness, some bergamot to give a mellow richness also some jasmine, a little violet and vanilla for the petite Madeleine. Not too heavy, not too rich."
Okay next is Let Them Eat Cake (popular theme?) lip balm by LUSH. Orange and lemons, currants and sultanas, vanilla, sherry and treacle. I have it and love it! But they have SOLD OUT online, so if you are near a store you are lucky pick an extra up for me please....
Hand made note cards! I can just imagine throwing a fun dinner party -exclusive of course- and sending out the invitations on these charming cards!
These make me melt by their cuteness factor! Damask booties for little ones! Dress them up and take them out and take lots of pictures...they will look like princesses!
Motion Picture Masterpieces Collection ... The line up is great - starting off with MGM's 1938 movie, Marie Antoinette staring Norma Shearer. If you have not seen this you must, you will love Louis, and it covers many notable events. Unlike the 2006 movie, the story reaches the revolution. The costumes are Hollywood-Glam, I mean the opulence of the dresses and sets are quite stunning, sometimes over the top. I read that Marie Antoinette's 'wedding gown' in the film weighed around 40 pounds! Other movies include Pride and Prejudice, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield and Treasure Island.

OK that is a lot to take in... Enjoy!