Thursday, May 21, 2009

Le Jeudi de Josephine: In the little suburb of Rueil...

... is the Chateau Malmaison, where the very kind and noble Empress Josephine once lived…


Viger Jean-Louis Victor
La rose de Malmaison, 1866
Musée national des châteaux de Malmaison



Josephine as Venus, by Appiani


Last time I wrote about Josephine’s love of roses. So this time I thought I’d post some very beautiful photos of this enchanting place called Chateau Malmaison. Sadly, the grounds no longer look as divine as they once did; but the place still holds much of its glorious beauty. Enjoy.






















Josephine's Boudoir




Salon Dore




'This majestic painting of Napoleon on his horse horse, crossing the Alps, still hangs in Malmaison.'


Here is a Youtube clip of Malmaison, if you're interested to watch (it's a good 5 min. long). In the clip we can really see that the grounds have obviously lost their splendor. there are some beautiful flowers...but nothong compared to Josephine's immense and unique collection. The place has still kept its grandiose look...but it seems like such a sad place now.

If you do watch it, let me know what you think.




Source : http://www.metaforum.it/forum/showthread.php?t=7888&page=4
http://www.findersfayre.com/newsletter/SE/november2008.html



7 comments:

Lucy said...

testing..

Ingrid Mida said...

It's true it is somewhat sad in its faded glory but that seems to be the case with many of these treasures from history. I try and use my imagination to recapture some of the former glory and splendour in my mind.

Heather Carroll said...

How gorgeous! Once again I have to comment on what great taste Jo had

Darlene said...

Lovely post Lucy. I just love the richness of color they used then. I could just lose myself in some of those rooms. Thanks for sharing.

May said...

Magnificent post.

The grounds do seem lonely and melancholy now... But, as you say, the sense of grandeur has remained.

EBOOKSTAGRAM said...

I received your comment lucy; I love this web!

The Clever Pup said...

Just discovered your blog. It's a wonderfully curated site. Love it.

Favourited you.

Hazel in Toronto