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The Yew Tree Ball
The Yew Tree Ball (french: Le bal des ifs) was a masked ball held in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles on the night of 25–26 February 1745. 1,500 people attended. King Louis XV and several of his gentlemen courtiers appeared dressed as topiary yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ... trees. The ball is notorious for being the venue in which the king made contact with Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson. He had first seen her while hunting at Senart. On 14 September 1745, Poisson was officially presented to the Court as the Marquise de Pompadour. She became the king’s official mistress until her death in 1764. Gallery File:Louis XV France by Louis-Michel van Loo 002.jpg, Louis XV File:Jean-Marc Nattier, Madame de Pompadour en Diane (1746).jpg, Pompadour dressed as Diana, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hall Of Mirrors
The Hall of Mirrors (french: Grande Galerie, Galerie des Glaces, Galerie de Louis XIV) is a grand Baroque style gallery and one of the most emblematic rooms in the royal Palace of Versailles near Paris, France. The grandiose ensemble of the hall and its adjoining salons was intended to illustrate the power of the absolutist monarch Louis XIV. Located on the first floor (''piano nobile'') of the palace's central body, it faces west towards the Palace Gardens. The Hall of Mirrors has been the scene of events of great historic significance, including the Proclamation of the German Empire and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Cultural and historical background Construction In 1623 King Louis XIII ordered the construction of a modest two-story hunting lodge at Versailles, which he soon enlarged to a château from 1631 to 1634. His son Louis XIV declared the site his future permanent residence in 1661 and ordered the transformation into an extensive residence in severa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palace Of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, under the direction of the Ministry of Culture (France), French Ministry of Culture, by the Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles. Some 15,000,000 people visit the palace, park, or gardens of Versailles every year, making it one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. Louis XIII built a simple hunting lodge on the site of the Palace of Versailles in 1623 and replaced it with a small château in 1631–34. Louis XIV expanded the château into a palace in several phases from 1661 to 1715. It was a favorite residence for both kings, and in 1682, Louis XIV moved the seat of his court and government to Versailles, making the palace the ''de facto'' capital of France. This ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chateau De Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, under the direction of the French Ministry of Culture, by the Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles. Some 15,000,000 people visit the palace, park, or gardens of Versailles every year, making it one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. Louis XIII built a simple hunting lodge on the site of the Palace of Versailles in 1623 and replaced it with a small château in 1631–34. Louis XIV expanded the château into a palace in several phases from 1661 to 1715. It was a favorite residence for both kings, and in 1682, Louis XIV moved the seat of his court and government to Versailles, making the palace the ''de facto'' capital of France. This state of affairs was continued by Kings Louis XV an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defined as his 13th birthday) on 15 February 1723, the kingdom was ruled by his grand-uncle Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, as Regent of France. Cardinal Fleury was chief minister from 1726 until his death in 1743, at which time the king took sole control of the kingdom. His reign of almost 59 years (from 1715 to 1774) was the second longest in the history of France, exceeded only by his predecessor, Louis XIV, who had ruled for 72 years (from 1643 to 1715). In 1748, Louis returned the Austrian Netherlands, won at the Battle of Fontenoy of 1745. He ceded New France in North America to Great Britain and Spain at the conclusion of the disastrous Seven Years' War in 1763. He incorporated the territories of the Duchy of Lorr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Topiary
Topiary is the horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful. The term also refers to plants which have been shaped in this way. As an art form it is a type of living sculpture. The word derives from the Latin word for an ornamental landscape gardener, ''topiarius'', a creator of ''topia'' or "places", a Greek word that Romans also applied to fictive indoor landscapes executed in fresco. The plants used in topiary are evergreen, mostly woody, have small leaves or needles, produce dense foliage, and have compact and/or columnar (e.g., fastigiate) growth habits. Common species chosen for topiary include cultivars of European box (''Buxus sempervirens''), arborvitae (''Thuja'' species), bay laurel (''Laurus nobilis''), holly (''Ilex'' species), myrtle (''Eugenia'' or '' Myrtus'' species), yew (''Taxus'' species), and privet (''Ligu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madame De Pompadour
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and remained influential as court favourite until her death. Pompadour took charge of the king's schedule and was a valued aide and advisor, despite her frail health and many political enemies. She secured titles of nobility for herself and her relatives, and built a network of clients and supporters. She was particularly careful not to alienate the Queen, Marie Leszczyńska. On 8 February 1756, the Marquise de Pompadour was named as the thirteenth lady-in-waiting to the queen, a position considered the most prestigious at the court, which accorded her with honors. Pompadour was a major patron of architecture and decorative arts, especially porcelain. She was a patron of the ''philosophes'' of the Enlightenment, including Voltaire. Hostile crit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, under the direction of the French Ministry of Culture, by the Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles. Some 15,000,000 people visit the palace, park, or gardens of Versailles every year, making it one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. Louis XIII built a simple hunting lodge on the site of the Palace of Versailles in 1623 and replaced it with a small château in 1631–34. Louis XIV expanded the château into a palace in several phases from 1661 to 1715. It was a favorite residence for both kings, and in 1682, Louis XIV moved the seat of his court and government to Versailles, making the palace the ''de facto'' capital of France. This state of affairs was continued by Kings Louis XV an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1745 In France
Events from the year 1745 in France. Incumbents *Monarch: Louis XV Events * * * * May 11 – War of the Austrian Succession: Battle of Fontenoy – French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army including the Black Watch. * July 9 – War of the Austrian Succession: Battle of Melle – The French are victorious in an engagement against the Pragmatic Allies. * September 14 – Madame de Pompadour is officially presented in the court of Louis XV of France. Births * * * * * * January 6 – Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier, French inventor (d. 1799) * April 20 – Philippe Pinel, French physician (d. 1826) * July 8 – Sara Banzet, educator and diarist (d. 1774) Deaths * * * * * * * May 22 – François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie, French military leader (b. 1671) * December 8 – Étienne Fourmont, French orientalist (b. 1683) * December 19 – Jean-Baptiste van Loo Jean-Baptiste van Loo (14 January 1684 – 19 December ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
