The show features a group of portraits recalling famous and not-so-famous women who lived at the Trianon.

In addition to rulers from Queen Maria-Theresa of Austria to Empress Eugénie of France, portraits of women in the royal or imperial family – mothers, sisters, daughters and granddaughters – are on display in the gallery. Beside them, you can see paintings of women whose lives were interwoven with power – princesses and royal favourites – and of lesser-known figures: ladies of the royal court and women in the service of queens and empresses.

A procession of three centuries of women in French history streams past the eyes of visitors, who can observe changing tastes in fashion and portraiture in famous works by Gobert, Rigaud, Nattier, Gérard, Gros and Winterhalter.

Jérémie Benoît, Head Curator at the palace of Versailles, is the show's commissioner.

Both Trianon palaces – the spring and summer residences of the Kings of France –were built for their lovers but very soon considered places for strolling and relaxing away from the protocol of the court of Versailles. The prettiest women were invited there for performances and country parties in the privacy of the royal family.

Queens Marie-Theresa of Austria, Louis XIV's wife, and Marie Leszczinska, Louis XV's wife, came to Trianon on a regular basis, but the royal mistresses – Madame de Montespan, Madame de Pompadour and Madame Du Barry – and Louis XIV's daughters, famous for their pranks, are the ones who left the most memories here. 

Late in Louis XIV's reign the Duchess of Burgundy, Louis XV's mother, moved into the Grand Trianon, where she staged a carnival in 1702. She foreshadowed Marie-Antoinette, whose memory will forever be associated with the Petit Trianon, where the Queen led a simple life surrounded by her children and friends, Mesdames de Lamballe and de Polignac.

In 1805, after the Revolution, Napoleon had both palaces refurnished for his mother, his wife Josephine and his sister Pauline Borghèse. Later he had them turned into his "spring residence" for the use of his second wife, Marie-Louise of Hapsburg, whom he honoured with lavish festivities from 1810 on.

The Trianon fell into disuse during the Restoration, when receptions seldom took place there, but it had one last chance to shine under the reign of King Louis-Philippe, who housed his large family in the palaces. His wife, Queen Marie-Amélie, and her sister, Madame Adélaïde, lived in the left wing of the Grand Trianon. His daughters, Princesses Clémentine and Marie, who got married there in 1837, and Louise, Queen of the Belgians, lived in the right wing. The heiress to the throne, Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Duchess of Orléans, lived in the Petit Trianon.

The last female ruler to visit the site, Empress Eugénie, had the Petit Trianon turned into a museum devoted to the memory of Marie-Antoinette. Under the Fifth Republic, the Grand Trianon became a guesthouse for the great, including Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Beatrice of the Netherlands.

A procession of three centuries of famous and lesser-known women in the history of France parades past the gaze of visitors, who can observe changing tastes in fashion and portraiture in the works chosen – famous paintings by Gobert, Rigaud, Nattier, Gérard, Gros and Winterhalter.

Catherine-Henriette d’Harcourt, Duchess of Arpajon (1622-1701) The Duchess of Arpajon was the lady-in-waiting of the dauphine (wife of the Grand Dauphin, Louis XIV's eldest son). In that capacity, she went to Trianon several times as part of the dauphine's retinue. Here the artist depicts her in fashions dating from early in Louis XIV's reign. Her dress is decorated with strings of pearls; her necklace and earrings are also made of pearls and she is holding a ribbon with a medallion in her hand.		Elisabeth-Charlotte of Bavaria, Duchess of Orléans, Princess Palatine (1652-1722) Madame Palatine was married to the Duke of Orléans, Louis XIV's brother. A colourful figure famous for her plain-speaking and sharp wit, at the Grand Trianon she lived in the Trianon-sous-Bois wing, which was named after her. In this painting, the artist made no attempt to portray Princess Palatine in a flattering light. She is depicted as an imposing figure, but, using a very broad, brilliant style, he managed to show the princess to her best advantage as though to magnify her.
Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Nantes, Duchess of Bourbon (1673-1743) The Duchess of Bourbon was the daughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. In 1685 she was betrothed to the Prince of Condé at the Porcelain Trianon during a lavish banquet, the memory of which remains associated with the first Trianon palace. Here the artist shows her in mourning after her husband's death in 1710, with an ermine-lined coat, which only duchesses wore, and a veil of Holland linen.		Marie-Josèphe de Saxe, dauphin (1731-1767) Marie-Josèphe de Saxe had eight children with the dauphin, Louis XV's son; three became kings of France: Louis XVI, Louis XVIII and Charles X. She slept in the Trianon-sous-Bois wing at Trianon. In this official and rather solemn portrait, she is depicted in front of the Latona Fountain wearing an ermine-lined fleur-de-lys coat and a lavish silk dress embroidered with fruits and gold lamée and holds a closed fan in her hands.
Marie-Josèphe-Rose de Tascher de La Pagerie, Josephine Bonaparte, Empress of the French (1763-1814) Trianon is associated more closely with Josephine's divorce than with her marriage. On 15 December 1809, after telling the empress of his intention to divorce her, Napoleon went to Trianon to spend the night. He also invited Josephine to spend Christmas Eve there with him. Here the artist depicts Josephine in the full splendour of imperial dress: she is wearing a gold and pearl diadem and an evening gown adorned with imperial symbols.		Marie-Amélie de Bourbon-Siciles, Queen of the French (1782-1866) Marie-Amélie de Bourbon-Sicile, Louis-Philippe's wife, was the last queen to live in the Grand Trianon. She occupied Louis XIV's former bedroom, sleeping in the same bed Napoleon had used in the Tuileries Palace. Here the painter portrayed the Queen with two of her sons, the Duke of Aumale and the Duke of Montpensier. Her black, lace-trimmed dress with its wide, low sleeve openings and a chatelaine at the belt is a hallmark of fashion in the Age of Romanticism.

Exhibition catalogue

Ladies of the Trianon
Jérémie Benoît
with Berg International, 2012
16,5 x 22 cm, 104 p., €22

The catalogue features portraits by the best artists, Gobert, Rigaud, Nattier, Vigée-Lebrun, Gros or Winterhalter, of famous ladies who lived here, from Madame de Sévigné to Princess Palatine, Queen Marie Leszczynska to the Duchess of Berry. The paintings, along with stories and quotes from the past, bring these women back to life.

This catalogue is available in French only

Themed tours

Several 90-minute themed tours offer a deeper insight into the exhibition. They start at 2.30pm. This visits are in French only.

 
To find out more about the theme tours [French]

Visit game booklet

A game booklet produced by Paris Mômes is available in the exhibition and by download.

Intended for children aged 6-12, it presents the exhibition in a amusing way while drawing the attention of young visitors to easily spotted details and funny anecdotes. The Ladies of Trianon will soon have no secrets from either children or adults!

Opening times

The show is open every day except Monday from midday to 6:30pm (last admission at 6pm).

All the opening times

Prices

You can see the show, which is in the Grand Trianon, with a Passeport ticket or Trianon palaces and Marie-Antoinette’s Hamlet ticket.

Both are available on the internet. On site, you can buy the Passeport at any ticket desk; the Trianon palaces and Marie-Antoinette’s Hamlet ticket can be purchased only at the Trianon palaces.

Click here to see the itemised list of visitors entitled to free admission.

How to get here

You can reach the Trianon palaces and Marie-Antoinette's hamlet by passing through the Palace first, or directly.

Through the Palace first, you can reach the Grand Trianon by passing through the gardens and the park: you will need around 20 minutes walking or use the mini-train (leaving from the North Terrace; €6,90 at full rate, €5,30 at reduced rate) or rent an electric vehicle (€30 for 1 hour).
Facilities

To reach the Grand Trianon directly, go through the grille de la Reine or the grille Saint Antoine. Some of the town of Versailles' bus lines stop at those gates (www.phebus.tm.fr / horaires / trajet).