It will run through the beginning of the Capetian dynasty to nowadays and will focus on everything related to France and its history.
Feel free to submit!
Benjamin West’s painting of the delegations at the Treaty of Paris: John Jay,John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and William Temple Franklin. The British delegation refused to pose, and the painting was never completed.
The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain on one side and the United States of America and its allies on the other. The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements
“The Zenith of French Glory; — The Pinnacle of Liberty. Religion, Justice, Loyalty & all the Bugbears of Unenlightened Minds, Farewell! / published by H. Humphrey: February 12, 1793.” (New York Public Library)
Unusual Museum of Taxidermy and Hunting
Every seeker of the unusual loves a good taxidermy museum and there are plenty of places in Paris that you can admire such zoological displays, however none of them host as theatrical and astonishing a display as the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature (Museum of Hunting and Nature) in Paris. Installed in two 18th century private mansions. The museum advocates for respectful hunting practices, wildlife preservation and ecological consciousness.
Arranged as a Wunderkammer, each room of the labyrinth houses are dedicated to a specific animal. Deer, wild pig, rabbit, birds of prey, they all have their own place. The genuine aspect of the museums work however is that each creatures appears where you least expect them, surprising you by their lifelike presence in a setting mixing baroque furniture, paintings, and cabinets of curiosities you’re encouraged to open and play with.
Jean Baptiste Greuze, Le gateau des Rois, 1774
La galette des Rois (literally “the flat pastry cake of the Kings”), a cake celebrating Epiphany, is traditionally sold and consumed a few days before and after this date. Two versions exist: in northern France and Quebec the cake (which can be either circular or rectangular) consists of flaky puff pastry layers with a dense center of frangipane. In the south of France, particularly in Occitania and Roussillon, the cake, called gâteau des rois or royaume, is a torus-shaped brioche with candied fruits, very similar to the Catalan tortell. This version of the cake originates in Provence and predates the northern version.
Tradition holds that the cake is “to draw the kings” to the Epiphany. A figurine, la fève, which can represent anything from a car to a cartoon character, is hidden in the cake and the person who finds the trinket in their slice becomes king for the day and will have to offer the next cake. Originally, la fève was literally a broad bean (fève), but it was replaced in 1870 by a variety of figurines out of porcelain or—more recently—plastic. These figurines have become popular collectibles and can often be bought separately.
A reblog because that’s what I’m doing right now B)
Now that it has confirmed the blood came from Louis XVI, researchers are planning to reconstruct the entire genome of the deposed French monarch.
Robert Francois Damiens (1715-57) before the judges at the Chatelet, Paris, 2nd March 1757
Robert-François Damiens (9 January 1715 – 28 March 1757) was a French domestic servant whose attempted assassination of King Louis XV of France in 1757. He was the last person to be executed in France by drawing and quartering, the traditional and gruesome form of death penalty used for regicides.
He was tortured first with red-hot pincers; his hand, holding the knife used in the attempted assassination, was burned using sulphur; molten wax, lead, and boiling oil were poured into his wounds. He was then remanded to the royal executioner, Charles Henri Sanson, who harnessed horses to his arms and legs to be dismembered. But Damiens’ limbs did not separate easily: the officiants ordered Sanson to cut Damiens’ joints with an axe. Once Damiens was dismembered to the applause of the crowd, his reportedly still-living torso was burnt at the stake.
A french commode in vivid red lacquer with chinoiserie panels, 18th century, Louis XV style
Château de Lunéville
The Château de Lunéville which had belonged to the Dukes of Lorraine since the thirteenth century, was rebuilt as “the Versailles of Lorraine” byDuke Léopold from 1703 to 1723, from designs of Pierre Bourdict and Nicolas Dorbay and then of the architect Germain Boffrand, whose masterwork it became. Lunéville was classified a Monument historique in 1901 and by successive ordinances; its princely apartments are looked after by the Ministry of Defense while the structure is the responsibility of the Conseil Général de Meurthe-et-Moselle.
On the night of 2 to 3 January 2003, a fire broke out that ravaged the château to the extent that the plaster vault of the chapelle royale collapsed. Passing through the attics, the fire destroyed the roof over much of the structure. The restoration of the building and its decors is under way
4. Atelier Roussel
Commode à la Régence, vers 1765-1770.
Marqueterie de fleurs sur fond de sycomore
teinté tabac, de bois de rose et d’amarante
Estampillée P. Russel
Photo : Christie’s
