And I have to come back to my beloved Versailles and the wonderful magnificent Palace/museum of Versailles. I have given you so many articles on it and so many stories, general and personal ,that I rather go straight to the matter on this post.
As a friend of the Domaine de Versailles I walk around, in and out. However, my most vivid memories are the walking and jogging in the gardens and especially stopping by the Petit Trianon. Nevertheless, there are many curiosities anecdotes especially in the Palace of Versailles. I like to tell you about the French Parnassus! or Le Parnasse Français!!! I like to describe it from personal brochures.
Le Parnasse Français or the French Parnassus in the apotheosis of the poets and musicians of king Louis XIV. a bronze and wood model, completed in 1718 is kept at the Palace of Versailles in the aile du nord or north wing, ground floor (1fl US). Its measures are: 260 cm high, 235 cm wide and 235 cm deep.
The monument was to be a personification of Mount Parnassus with ornaments of laurels, myrtles, palm trees, surrounding and emphasizing the climb to the summit where a statue of Louis XIV was to triumph, in Apollo at the lyre. On the floor immediately below, the three graces embodied by Antoinette Deshoulières, Henriette de la Suze, and Madeleine de Scudéry, the best known of the three. Still below, on a sort of terrace crossing the mountain, Pierre Corneille surrounded by Molière,Racine and Lully who wears a medallion. La Fontaine, Boileau, and other lesser-known characters completing the empty spaces of the muses. In various places were to be hung on the laurels medallions of poets and less famous musicians.
All is on a formidable wooden base, very worked with its marked rocks, its waterfalls from which the water flows and its many plant species easily recognizable by a good gardener, appears bronze with its swarming of various characters. They are all of very fine carving, well taken up. On the upper level you see a young Apollo enthroned at the lyre, behind him are a child blowing in his trumpet and a winged horse about to fly away. At her feet, three women wear long garlands of flowers, preparing to crown the god as soon as he stops playing. Beside them, little loves wear medallions where the heads of very chiselled men are seen. On the level below the previous one are many standing figures, standing or seated, in costumes and wig hairstyles typical of the Sun King era. Going down, the mound widens and, still below, you see some effigies, located at the corners, of men known to the time.
In the second plan, in height, an energetic olives branch, with reinforced masculinity, indicates to the serious Monsieur Pertinent and to the crowned Lion the direction that the small troop should take. Just behind them, the ruffle great step, master of fantasy and the joy of living in dreams, the land of all happiness. Above the trees with massive trunks in the midst of which the scarecrow of the olive branch took place. Set back, at the level of olive and relevant master, the tamer, the chimney sweep, the dwarf with the wheelbarrow containing an Easter egg, the dancer in tutu, the gendarme, the animated bell, etc. All members of the brilliant community of Hallucinaville. They are looking for their way out. Oh yeah those feerie artists of my belle France!
All this beautiful world is situated on the sides of a mound of green grass, with blooming flowers of all colors, the top of which is crowned by two grandiose trees in which small birds fly. In the background, hills on the right, one of which carries a fairytale castle with a floating banner. Everywhere else a wonderful azure blue sky without the slightest cloud. The perfection of the illustration is total, the painting is a masterpiece of a unique balance between drawing and colors, truly a moment of classic eternity.
This is not in the official public Domaine of Versailles webpage nor the tourist office of Versailles. You can read up my post on the Italian musicians of Louis XIV on their former house in Versailles and their performances back them as the closest to what this statue represent. Hope you enjoy the novelty Le Parnasse Français of Versailles!
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 