Opera Atelier in Versailles

Jake Rennie as Armour and Peggy Kriha Dye as Armide
Opera Atelier 2012, Photo by Bruce Zinger 2012

Soprano Peggy Kriha Dye said she felt a little bit like Cinderella after her triumphant performance as Armide in the Opera Atelier's production of Lully's Armide in Versailles, France on Friday night. Dressed in a lush, long red velvet gown by Magpie Design for the after-party, she told me that she was moved by the standing ovation and repeated curtain calls demanded by the audience. She also said she was glad that she hadn't known in advance that Armide has never been performed in Versailles before. Her performance set a standard that will be hard to follow, as did all the members of this Toronto-based troupe, who performed as if their lives depended on it.

What's on the Fashion Calendar for May 2012?

May will be a hectic month, with the opening of several must-see exhibitions:

Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations opens at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Costume Institute in New York on May 10, 2012. In this exhibition, the affinities between Italian designers Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada will be considered. Taking inspiration from Miguel Covarrubias's "Impossible Interviews" for Vanity Fair in the 1930s, curators Andrew Bolton and Harold Koda have orchestrated conversations between these iconic women to suggest new readings of their work. 

The exhibition will feature approximately ninety designs and thirty accessories by Schiaparelli (1890–1973) from the late 1920s to the early 1950s and by Prada from the late 1980s to the present, which have been selected from from The Costume Institute's collection, the Prada Archive, and private collectors. I'll be attending the press preview on May 7th and writing a review for Fashion Projects. 

Roger Vivier at the Bata Shoe Museum 2012

The Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto presents Roger Vivier: Process to Perfection beginning May 10, 2012. In this exhibition, the work of Roger Vivier, one of the 20th century's most important shoemakers, will be displayed for the first time in North America. Loans from museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, have been obtained to create a full picture of the work of this master shoemaker. I will be attending the opening party for this event on May 8th.

Armide by Opera Atelier, Photo by Bruce Zinger 2012

The spectacular production of Lully's Armide by Opera Atelier travels to Versailles, France and opens on May 11, 2012 in the Palace's Opera Royal for three performances. Shall we meet in Versailles or perhaps in Paris?

My upcoming exhibition at loop Gallery in Toronto opens on May 26, 2012. Constructions of Femininity is an exploration of the artifice of feminine dress and identity. This work juxtaposes the extreme silhouettes of 18th century dress with the armour of the modern day hockey warrior and was inspired by young women hockey players who have redefined femininity to include feats of courage, strength, and power.

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.

Opera Atelier: The Spectacle of Armide

Olivier LaQuerre as Chevalier Ubalde
Photo by Bruce Zinger

Opera Atelier's production of Armide, a tragédie en musique, is, in my view, a spectacle worthy of Versailles. First performed in Paris at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal on February 15, 1686, with scenery by Bérain, the Toronto-based Opera Atelier has layered the Middle Eastern aesthetic of the story over a Baroque sensibility, creating a feast for the senses. Captivating from start to finish, this production opens tonight in Toronto and runs until April 21, 2012. In May, the company takes Armide to Versailles, followed by a summer run at The Glimmerglass Festival in New York. 

Opera Atelier's Don Giovanni

Opera Atelier's Don Giovanni (Photo by Bruce Zinger)

Opera can be such a serious affair but in the case of Opera Atelier's presentation of Don Giovanni, the goal was laughter. Director Marshall Pynkoski introduced the opening night production by equating Mozart's character of Don Giovanni to Warren Beatty which in and of itself caused much mirth. He also said  that the two ways to create a comedic opera were 1. speed and 2. youth. By filling his cast with attractive and trim young singers, dancers and actors, and by keeping a lively pace, he achieved both goals and the audience responded with laughter throughout the show and with a standing ovation at the end.

The 18th Century Back in Fashion

Maison Christian Dior (f/w 2004-2005 on left and f/w 2007-2008 on right)

The extreme silhouettes, elaborate trimmings, and pouf hairstyles of the French Court dress in the 18th Century have served as a rich source of inspiration for haute couture and ready to wear fashion designers like Vivienne Westwood, Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, Azzedine Alaia, Alexander McQueen and others. In an exhibition called The 18th Century Back in Fashion at the Palace of Versailles, original garments from that period have been shown alongside the modern interpretations to demonstrate the influence of the 18th century on contemporary fashion.

Opera Atelier's Versailles Gala 2011

Opera Atelier Versailles Gala Fashion Show
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

I am a huge fan of Opera Atelier. Their productions of 18th century operas are unlike any other I've ever seen, combining the best of opera and ballet with costumes and sets that are both beautiful and true to the period.

This past week, Opera Atelier celebrated their 25th anniversary with a Versailles Gala. Having donated one of my photographs from my All is Vanity series in which I am wearing a gown from an Opera Atelier production of The Coronation of Poppea, I was thrilled to be part of this event. And what made it even more special for me was my seating placement beside Opera Atelier's ever-so-talented costume and set designer Gerard Gauci. (Gerard also happens to be an incredible artist who is known for his exquisitely beautiful oil paintings of rooms from great palaces and homes. He is represented by Leo Kamen Gallery and Galerie de Bellefeuille). 


As you might imagine, the event was an elegant affair from beginning to end. The evening began with a fashion show featuring some of the costumes from the Opera Atelier archive. With only a tiny point and shoot camera tucked into my evening bag, my photo taking ability was limited, but I think these out-takes convey the regal deportment of the dancers who were in the show.

Opera Atelier Versailles Gala Fashion Show
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

Another highlight was a performance by Canadian operatic superstar Measha Brueggergosman who sang a selection from her upcoming role in Opera Atelier's La Clemenza di Tito by Mozart. Although I was enchanted by her glorious voice, I have to say I also was impressed by her choice of gown. Brueggergosman wore this black ruched dress with aplomb, conveying the confidence of a woman that knows she is beautiful and talented.

Measha Brueggergosman at the Opera Atelier Versailles Gala
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

In case you are wondering what I wore to this event, I chose a black lace top and long black skirt with a train by Canadian designer David Finley. And no I don't have any photos of myself.

Opera Atelier's production of La Clemenza di Tito by Mozart begins on Friday, April 22 and runs through to May 1, 2011. Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster or at the Elgin Theatre box office.

My TV Interview by Artsync

I remember love II by Ingrid Mida 2010

I was a bit nervous as I sat down to watch Artsync TV on Friday night wondering how my interview from last weekend's opening of my show All is Vanity at Loop Gallery would turn out.  I was pleased with the outcome, but even better was the reaction of my teenage boys who told me they were impressed. As anyone who is the mother of teenagers would know, that is not an easy feat!

Thanks to the Artsync production team for making me look good!  If you would like to see the tv interview clip, click on the link here or
http://www.artsync.ca/opening-ingrid-mida/

All is Vanity continues its run at Loop Gallery until Sunday, February 13, 2011. The gallery is located at 1273 Dundas Street West in Toronto, just east of Dovercourt. To read excerpts of my Question and Answer session at the gallery, click over to the loop gallery blog here or http://loopgallery.blogspot.com/2011/01/q-with-ingrid-mida.html.

All is Vanity

Oft shall death and sorrow reign (Versailles) by Ingrid Mida Digital C-print 2010, 16x20 framed

All is Vanity is the translation of the latin Vanitus Vanitum, a biblical reference to the transitory nature of life. This theme conveys the vanity of pursing earthly pleasures and accomplishments in the face of certain death and is the underlying premise for my upcoming show at Loop Gallery which opens on Saturday, January 22, 2011.

In this photographic series suggesting the haunted gardens of Versailles, I attempt to convey the journey and emotions of grief. Inspired by the work of Cindy Sherman, Sarah Moon and Deborah Turbeville, I have used soft focus, movement and filters to evoke a terrible kind of beauty. This series of ten black and white photographs pose the question of whether beauty and death are facets of the same experience.

The image above, entitled Oft shall death and sorrow reign, was taken in the gardens of Versailles,  a place which represents the pinnacle of vanity and excess. This photo is symbolic of an apocolyptic moment when life changes in a heart beat.  Catapulted into a journey of grief, you become a member of a club that you never wanted to join.

My familiarity with loss and death has given me a deep appreciation for the fragile and temporal nature of life. And creating beauty is a means by which I have cheated death. In the past, some of my work has been criticized for being too pretty and too impersonal. This work is anything but, and represents a big leap in my growth as an artist. Dark and haunting with me as the subject of many of them, it is about me, but not about me. The journey of loss and grief is a universal experience. 

All is vanity by Ingrid Mida 2010, Digital C-print,  28x34 framed,

I will be present at Loop Gallery for the opening reception on Saturday, January 22 from 2-5pm. Sometime that afternoon, Artsync TV will be interviewing me for a segment on their show!

I will also speak about my work during a Question & Answer Session at the gallery on Saturday, January 29 at 3pm, moderated by Lyla Rye. The show runs until February 13, 2011. For more information, please check the loop gallery blog or website.

The History of Fashion Photography

Cover Image by Sarah Moon 1973

In the scheme of art history, photography is a relatively new art form, having only been in existence since 1839. And although photographs of fashionable dress have existed since then, the emergence of photographs to sell clothing and accessories took another half century to develop. It wasn't until after the invention and application of the halftone printing process that fashion photography took off.  The purpose of fashion photography is to sell clothes, but today many fashion photographs seem to be about creating a story, evoking a mood or expressing a concept. The lines between art and fashion have been blurred.

The names of the great fashion photographers like Edward Steichen, Richard Avendon, Irving Penn and Helmut Newton are well known but there are others: Horst, Bresson, Blumenfeld, David Bailey, Bert Stern, Hiro, William Klein. But, the ones that I was most influenced by are both women:  Sarah Moon and Deborah Turbeville.

Unseen Versailles series by Deborah Turbeville circa 1980

These two women were born around the same time and were both involved in fashion before becoming photographers. Sarah Moon is a former model-turned-photographer and Deborah Turbeville is a former fashion-editor-turned-photographer.  Both use colour in a monochromatic way and create personal visions that are like day dreams. And both women create photographs that are exquisitely  beautiful.

Sarah Moon was born in 1941 in France and often captures her subjects in motion. The faces of her models are often blurred or their eyes are closed, rarely making eye contact. She has taken photographs for Cacharel, Chanel, Dior, Lacroix and other designers. Some of her recent series have included Frocks in Fantasy and The Shadows of Style.

In a 2008 interview with the UK Independent, Moon said "For me, photography is pure fiction even if it comes from life. I photograph people, of course, as I do nature – trees, flowers, animals – but I charge it with something other than reality, with feeling, with a certain feeling depending on the day. I compare myself to reportage photographers, who make some sort of statement about life. I don't believe that I am making any defined statement. Instead, I am expressing something, an echo of the world maybe."

Jean Muir and Models by Deborah Turbeville 1973

Deborah Turbeville was born in Massachusetts and grew up in New England. At age 20, she moved to New York City to work with designer Claire McCardell and later became a fashion editor before becoming a photographer. She uses blurring and disintegration to great effect and is somewhat obsessed with decay and dream sequences. Her work has been compared to the Impressionist Edgar Degas. "Even Turbeville's color is close to that of the impressionist master. Her color is rather non-color, or color fields of limpid and palely monchromatic beauty. Her palette is based on white with hints of pastel hues which subtly create, like her choice of poses, affinities with Degas ballet studies." (page 217, The History of Fashion Photography)

Turbeville created the breathtaking photographs in the book called The Unseen Versailles (another rare and beautiful book). Now in her seventies, Turbeville continues to work as a photographer, dividing her time between New York and Mexico.



The History of Fashion Photography is one of those books that is worth looking for. While long out of print, it offers a comprehensive look back at the development of this art form from its infancy up to 1980.

Fastes de Cour et Ceremonies Royales, Le costume de Cour en Europe 1650-1800

There are only 18 days left to see the exhibition of Costumes of the Court and Royal Ceremonies in Europe 1650-1800 at Chateau Versailles.


This stunningly beautiful exhibition took my breath away. Never have I seen so much opulence and beauty in one place. The grandeur of the exquisite beading, sparkling jewels, intricate embroidery and rich fabrics on display cannot be described.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the influence of French fashion was widespread across Europe. Many of the royal courts of Europe ordered their ceremonial dress from Parisian suppliers. And unlike the French court who abandoned their wardrobes of one year to the officers and ladies that served them, the courts in Sweden, Denmark and the region of Saxony systematically preserved royal garments linked to key moments in their reigns. The bulk of what is shown in this exhibition at Versailles has been loaned by the museums in these countries and supplemented by loans from the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Hermitage, the Pitti Palace, the Louvre, Musee Galleria de la Mode de la ville de Paris and private collectors. There are also many paintings on display to provide context to the exhibition of costumes and jewelery. In total, there are over 200 items on exhibit.

The exhibition encompasses seven rooms:
1. French royal costume - a gallery of portraits of all the kings of the senior branch of the Bourbons, including Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI

2. The coronation and the royal orders - a display of the coronation clothes including the grand habit worn for the coronation of Sophie Madeleine on May 29, 1772 in Sweden

3. Weddings and State ceremonies - a showcase that includes the wedding clothes of Danish Princess Sophie Madleine to crown prince Gustav III of Sweden on November 4, 1766

4. The grand habit - examples of the grand costume for a lady's official presentation to the king and queen which included a very rare (but amusing) doll mannequin

5. Religious pomp - a gallery of religious costumes worn by church officials

6. The king's day - a presentation of kings' dressing gowns and hunting attire

7. Fashion and court costume - a display showcasing the influence of fashion on court dress which includes the gown owned by the Royal Ontario Museum.

I had the pleasure of being guided through the exhibition by curator Pascale Gorguet Ballesteros. The depth of her knowledge and her passion for her work left me in awe.

Having the privilege to meet with the curator and others like her on my trip gave me a new-found respect for the challenges faced by museum staff. I now have a better appreciation of their desire to protect these priceless treasures and guard their copyright. No photos were allowed in the exhibition. I purchased the catalogue (even though it was only available in French) which is 278 pages of beauty and well worth the 52 Euro cover price if you can locate a copy. (I purchased mine at the Louvre bookshop and it may still be available from the Chateau Versailles website.)

The following three photos were provided to me as part of the press kit associated with the exhibition. I can attest to the fact that the photos do not really convey the magnificence of the clothing on display.



The last photo is of the gown owned by the Royal Ontario Museum that has been attributed to Rose Bertin, marchandes des modes for Marie Antoinette. The dress was displayed from the back to showcase the beautiful embroidery on the train. Shown adjacent to the dress was a sample of 18th century embroidery located in an archive from an atelier in Lyon. The emblematic peacock feathers and floral motifs favoured by Marie Antoinette which are on the dress matches that of the embroidery sample!

This grand exhibition will close on June 28, 2009. For more information visit http://fastesdecour.chateauversailles.fr/index_en.html#/en/exposition

Versailles

The palace of Versailles defies description. Its opulence, grandeur and magnificence cannot really be conveyed through words or photos. I have been to Versailles three times and I still feel like I've not seen it all.

Although the palace is closed on Mondays for maintenance, the grounds are open to visitors. It was easier for me to imagine what it might have been like for Marie Antoinette to walk the grounds when there were fewer people around.

Photo credits: Ingrid Mida, 2009

I highly recommend the book "Versailles, Biography of a Palace" by Tony Spawforth (which I reviewed on May 25, 2009). As well, "Marie Antoinette and the Last Garden of Versailles" by Christian Duvernois and Francois Halard is hauntingly beautiful with photos of the gardens as they exist today (which I reviewed on April 7, 2009).

P.S. I know many of you have been patiently waiting for my post on the court costume exhibition "Fastes de Cour et Ceremonies Royales". I promise to post it tomorrow.

Versailles
01 30 83 78 00
www.chateauversailles.fr

Book Review: Versailles, A Biography of a Palace

There is a lot of myth associated with Versailles. This book tells the real story behind this legendary palace and is a juicy read.

In anticipation of my trip there, I read this book and I am very glad that I did. Now I know that what a tourist sees today is quite different from what actually existed during the reigns of Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI. Each King made extensive alterations to the palace and since then there have been many more alterations.

For example, there used to be extra floors around the inner courtyards with some facades eventually reaching six stories. Both Louis XV and Louis XVI found privacy, fresh air and panoramic views from their rooftop rooms. These extra floors were described by Napolean's architect as courtyards "burdened with structures with no order or symmetry, their roofs or terraces piled on top of each other, making a real labyrinth from which the rainwater runs off with difficulty." (page 175) The removal of these top floors is an "irreparable loss for royal history".

I also gained a deeper understanding of what actually happened in Versailles from many perspectives including the traditions of ceremony, protocol, entertainment, dress, as well as fascinating details of how the thousands of support staff lived and worked the behind the scenes. Organized in a thematic rather than a sequential fashion, the book is not your typical boring history book and although it is not specifically about Marie Antoinette, she is mentioned often. This book is both entertaining and easy to read.

"Mentioned here for its sheer oddity, finally, is the use of the palace galleries by Louis XVI's brother, the clever and exquisitely polite comte de Provence, to stalk his sister-in-law, Marie-Antoinette, for who he burned with confused feelings. In the 1780s, when the prince was lodged in the Superintendency, he used to patrol the south wing's first-floor gallery in the hope of encountering "Rhodopovna," his code name for the queen, on her way to see her children, also lodged at the far end of the south wing. Halfway down the gallery with her footman, the queen would suddenly find her brother-in-law issuing from a side staircase, his prize for this subterfuge a few moments in her company and the chance to kiss her hand." (page 112)


If you are planning a trip to Versailles or want to read some scintilating facts about pre-revolutionary France, read this book. (By the way, Caroline Weber, author of Queen of Fashion, What Marie Antoinette wore to the Revolution, wrote the back cover blurb.)

Title: Versailles
Author: Tony Spawford
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, New York (2008)
Category: Non-fiction, history
Number of Pages: 254 (304 including endnotes)

Vintage Postcards from Versailles

Versailles, le Parterre nord
(the north flower beds)

The gardens of Versailles were formally styled into regular patterns of paths, groves, hedges and flower beds, pools of water and fountains.

After Marie Antoinette's husband became King, she undertook a redesign of the gardens of Versailles, making the Petit Trianon into her personal oasis of beauty and privacy. To read more about Marie Antoinette and her passion for gardening, please see my book review of "Marie-Antoinette and the Last Garden at Versailles" on April 7, 2009.

Vintage Postcards from Versailles

Le Panorama de Versailles

The Sun King, Louis XIV, made Versailles into the centre of political power in France during his reign. Originally a modest hunting lodge, Chateau de Versailles grew as a series of envelopes enfolding the original building, whose low brick wall is still visible in the centre. Evenutally, Versailles became the largest palace in Europe and was able to house 20,000 people at a time.

In 1838, an English visitor by the name of William Talmadge wrote: "The place is vast beyond all English imagination: one can hardly conceive it according to its purpose as a place of residence."

Versailles
01 30 83 78 00
Open 9am - 5 pm daily (summer hours until 6 pm)
www.chateauversailles.fr

P.S. This postcard was sent to me by my mother who visited Versailles about 25 years ago.

Photographs of Versailles at Musee d'art Contemporain de Montreal

Robert Polidori, Versailles, Salles d'Afrique, Portrait of Louis XVI by Callet #2, 2007

If you cannot make it to Versailles with me tomorrow, might I suggest a trip to see the retrospective of Robert Polidori's work which opens today at the Musee d'Art Contemporain de Montreal.

Polidori, who was born in Montreal, is known for his exquisite photographs of places of historical importance. He has photographed such locations as Versailles, Havana, Chernobyl and New Orleans (after the flood). In photographs that seem larger than life and filled with breath-taking detail, Polidori evokes memory and the haunting beauty of decay.

The exposition at the Musee d'Art Contemporain de Montreal is on from May 22 to September 7, 2009 and includes sixty works from the artist's principal series.

I had the pleasure of seeing Polidori's magnificent photographs of Versailles at the Nicolas Metivier Gallery in November 2008 (and wrote about it in a post on November 13, 2009). The exquisite beauty of the images has stayed with me.

I have pre-ordered Polidori's book called "Transitional States" which will be released on June 30, 2009. In this book, Polidori's charts 25 years of the conservation project at Versailles.

Court Dress in Europe 1650-1800

Many of the garments that are presently on display in the Court Pomp & Royal Ceremonies exhibition at Versailles have been loaned by museums in other countries, including Sweden and Denmark. While at first it might seem that the French Revolution was the reason that few garments from the 18th century French court have survived, that is not actually the whole story....

In the 18th century, it was the custom of the French court that the kings and queens would retire their wardrobe after one year of wear. Those garments would be given to the ladies and gentlemen who served them at court. The courtiers could resell them, refashion them for their own purpose or dispose of them as they wished. Most of the refashioned garments ended up being sold in Parisian second-hand clothing shops.

That is the process by which the "Marie Antoinette dress" owned by the Royal Ontario Museum was refashioned in the 19th century and ended up in England. This dress attributed to the atelier of Rose Bertin (shown in the photo below) was on display at the ROM in the fall and is currently included in the Versailles exhibition Court Pomp & Royal Ceremony.

While other European royal courts followed French fashion, they did not all follow the custom of retiring their wardrobes.In particular, King Gustavus Adophus (1611-1632) decided to preserve royal garments worn during key moments of his reign, in particular two of the outfits worn during the war in Poland. This established a custom of preservation which was adopted by other Swedish kings. In other royal courts like Denmark and Poland, royal garments, especially those worn during great events during a reign, were also systematically preserved. It is many of those garments which are currently on display at Versailles.


Court Pomp & Royal Ceremonies
Court Dress in Europe 1650-1800
31 March to 28 June 2009
Chateau de Versailles

Book Review: Marie Antoinette and the Last Garden at Versailles

Title: Marie-Antoinette and the Last Garden at Versailles
Author: Christian Duvernois
Photographer: Francois Halard
Publisher: Rizzoli, 2008
Category: Non-fiction
Price: US$65, Canada $75


After Marie Antoinette received the Trianon as a gift from her husband the King, she immediately undertook to redesign the grounds and pavilions. Gardening was in her blood; both her imperial parents, Marie Therese and Francis I, had been enthusiastic gardeners. As well, they had allowed their children to roam the grounds of the imperial residences, especially the castle of Laxenberg, a favourite royal retreat. Knowing this, it is no surprise that Marie Antoinette approached the redesign of the gardens of Versailles with passion and became her private domain.

In my two prior visits to Versailles, I had not given much attention to the grounds, never realizing what I was missing (until I reviewed Chinoiseries). And then I found another beautiful book about the gardens: Marie-Antoinette and the Last Garden at Versailles.

The photo above is from the cover (I could find no identifying info for this photo but I am guessing it is of the pavilion Belvedere). Inside are many sumptuous images of the gardens of Versailles taken by renowned Vogue photographer Francois Halard.

This is not a coffee table book of pretty photos. The author Christian Duvernois departs from the traditional interpretations of Marie Antoinette's reign as a notorious spend-thrift and focuses instead on her passion for the natural world, including analysis of her design and management of the gardens.

This book is exquisite. It is full of information about the gardens that I've not read elsewhere (and that rarely happen when it comes to anything about Marie Antoinette). The images are hauntingly beautiful, subtly capturing the ravages of time and the emptiness of spaces that would normally be full of people.

Court Costume Exhibition at Versailles

Wedding dress of Edwige Elisabeth Charlotte de Holstein-Gottorp (wife of Prince Karl of Sweden and sister-in-law of King Gustave III of Sweden), 1774

Court costume was designed to evoke the illusion of grandeur, wealth and power. In the 17th and 18th centuries, luxurious, expensive and ostentatious clothing was reserved for those at the top of the social hierarchy. Monarchs dressed for effect in textiles with gold and silver threads, laces, embroidery, and jewels to create a luxurious and lavish symbol of prosperity and power.

This week a magnificent exhibition opened at Chateau de Versailles called Court Pomp and Royal Ceremonies, Court Dress in Europe 1650-1800. This show, sponsored by Chanel, traces the history of court costume in Europe from 1650-1800 and includes 200 works (costumes, jewelery, and paintings) on loan from private collectors as well as museums like the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Pitti Palace, the Louvre, and the Royal Ontario Museum.

The exhibition encompasses seven rooms:
1. French royal costume
2. The coronation and the royal orders
3. Weddings and State ceremonies
4. The grand habit
5. Religious pomp
6. The king's day
7. Fashion and court costume

If you are a faithful reader of my blog, you will recall my many posts regarding the Marie Antoinette dress which was displayed at the Royal Ontario Museum in the fall of 2008. This dress was loaned to the Versailles exhibition and is on display in Room 7: Fashion and Court Dress. In the Versailles exhibition guide, this dress is attributed to Rose Bertin, marchandes des mode to Marie Antoinette but there is no assertion that the dress was worn by Marie Antoinette. The guide notes that the "front of the dress was modified" , "the skirt narrowed" and can "therefore no longer be presented as it was worn at the time".

It is indeed a rare treat to see garments from the 17th and 18th century on display. I can hardly wait to see this exhibition in May. Since I've already seen the dress attributed to Rose Bertin belonging to the ROM, I will be looking for:
1. The grand habit worn for the coronation of Sophie Madeleine on May 29, 1772
2. Doll's grand costume of whalebone stays, skirt, skit tail (1769-1775)
3. The wedding dress of Edwige Elizabeth Charlotte de Holstein-Gottorp (1774) in photo above


Court Pomp and Royal Ceremonies
Court Dress in Europe 1650-1800
March 31 to June 28, 2009
Chateau de Versailles

Marie Antoinette's Dress goes to Versailles

Today I popped into the Royal Ontario Museum to see what's new in the Patricia Harris Costume and Textile Gallery. Sadly, the answer is NOTHING. They have removed Marie Antoinette's dress but left the cabinet empty.

Although there was no information in the gallery what was to come next or what happened to MA's dress, I happen to know for a fact that Marie Antoinette's dress is en-route to Versailles. It will be displayed in their upcoming exhibition called Fastes de la Cour et Ceremonies Royal or "Court Pomp and Royal Ceremony" which opens on March 31 and closes on June 28, 2009.

I will be in Versailles in May and look forward to seeing this lovely gown again. I'm fairly certain that it will look more beautiful at Versailles.

If you would like to read more about this dress, specifically its history and attribution, please see my postings from October and November 2008.




Court Pomp and Royal Ceremony, Chateau Versailles, France
March 31 - June 28, 2009
www.chateauversailles.fr/en

Photographs of Versailles at Nicholas Metivier Gallery

Versailles, Salles d'Afrique, Portrait of Lousie XVI
Photo by Robert Polidori

Breathtaking images of Versailles by Robert Polidori are on display (and for sale) at Nicholas Metivier Gallery in Toronto until November 22nd.

Polidori is known for his highly detailed photographs of places such as Chernobyl, Havana and New Orleans that capture the "juxtapositions of the contemporary and the historical, beauty and decay". For Polidori, rooms represent "receptables of meaning" and show the layers of history and the effects of time. He has had exhibitions of his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the MOMA in New York, and the Bibliotheque National in Paris.

This Canadian photographer has photographed Versailles for twenty-five years and has published several books of his photography.

I went to the gallery today and was utterly mesmerized. The exquisite photographs were larger than life and seemed to be even more beautiful than the actual place. I was in Versailles two summers ago and his photos seemed to be more vivid and more colourful than I remember. Perhaps it is the absence of hordes of tourists that make the photos seem more vivid than real life.

Polidori takes his photographs using a large format camera and spends hours with Photoshop to create this heightened sense of reality. And while his artist statement seemed to be about capturing moments of time embedded in the rooms of Versailles, all I could see was exquisite beauty. If only I had US $26,000 to buy one of the photos. Unfortunately I'm going to have to settle on buying his book about Versailles which will come out in January 2008 (amazon.com)

Robert Polidori, Versailles: Transitional States
October 23 - November 22, 2008
Nicholas Metivier Gallery
451 King Street West
Toronto, Ontario
416-205-9000
www.metiviergallery.com