Often-missed glimpses into the Palace of Versailles

In my last blog post I told you about my visit to Maison Sajou in the town of Versailles. We had a lovely walk there that began on this tree-lined street.  Don't you love this view?  It was truly as peaceful as it looks here, with only a few strollers and dogs along the way.

As we left this side street, look what was off to our right...

Could it be?  Yes!  There was the Palace of Versailles.  WOW!!  We took a couple of photos from the street knowing that we would tour the palace the next day and would take oodles of photos then.

This next photo doesn't capture all the beauty of the Palace gate.  The gate was even more dazzling in person.

There are many wonderful photos and videos of the Palace of Versailles in books and on the internet.  I've decided for the most part to show photos of interest to needleworkers which may not appear elsewhere.

In today's blog post I'm focusing on some wallpaper designs, a tapestry, and three paintings.  Why paintings? Paintings often give a clear vision of what people were wearing.  The paintings I chose are of women wearing embroidered clothing.  (In  my next blog post I'll show photos of some embroidered chairs and photos of the King's and the Queen's bedchambers, both of which were exquisitely embellished.)

First, are two photos showing wallpaper designs.  Aren't they wonderful?

In this photo you can get a glimpse of the wallpaper and the goldwork piece which was just above a chair rail and around the doors.  Just beautiful!

Here is a very large tapestry.  I wish I had jotted down some details about it.  I've tried to look on-line for information, but my attempts have been fruitless.

Next are photos of a painting of Élisabeth-Charlotte de Bavière.  I've included an image of the sign which tells a wee bit about Élisabeth.  Below that is a photo showing her entire portrait, and below that are two photos showing details of her clothing.

Next is a portrait of Françoise-Marie de Bourbon.  Again I've included the sign that tells who she is, followed by her portrait, and then a detail of  the lace on her sleeve.

And last, but certainly not least, is a portrait of Marie Leczinska.  I neglected to get a photo of the sign about her portrait, but below her portrait are four photographic details of her beautiful gown.

If you want to see more photos of the Palace of Versailles and learn about its history, just check out some of the many websites, such the Palace's own website or this one which claims to have over 249,000 images.  Or just google the Palace of Versailles (or Château de Versailles) to see the enormous number of websites devoted to this exquisite place.  Many of these websites have much better photos and information than I can give you.  Instead, I've decided to focus on items that are not photographed as often.

I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse into some of what we saw, and that this will pique your interest in what is to follow in a day or two.