Gezicht op de Tuin van Versailles c. 1759 - 1796

Editor: This is "View of the Garden of Versailles," a watercolor print made by Louis-Joseph Mondhare somewhere between 1759 and 1796. It's got a whimsical, almost storybook quality, doesn’t it? The colours are so gentle. How do you see it? Curator: It tickles my fancy in much the same way, like a memory fading into watercolour. Imagine, stepping onto that very spot… inhaling the perfumed air. Those fountains aren't just fountains, you know. They're the pulse of the court. What secrets do you think those sculpted figures have overheard? Editor: Secrets? Maybe whispered gossip? It definitely feels staged, like a theatre set. Are those people actors? Curator: Perhaps, darling, in a way we all are. Versailles was theatre, after all, a stage for Louis’s absolute power. Mondhare captures that curated leisure. Notice the meticulous arrangement of nature? Nature, tamed! It speaks volumes. Don't you agree that this landscape echoes the rigidity of the Rococo? Editor: Definitely! The formality is so apparent, especially compared to later landscape paintings. Were these prints common? Curator: Immensely! These provided glimpses of grandeur to those who could only dream of Versailles, almost like a nineteenth-century postcard but infused with much more symbolism, wouldn't you say? Now, isn’t it incredible how a mere print can open a portal to a whole era? Editor: It really is. I’m starting to think about gardens, and landscapes, as carefully constructed displays of power. I never thought of it that way before. Curator: Excellent, dear, you are catching my drift! I think from now on, Versailles will never look the same.