The Petit Trianon

The Petit Trianon was built between 1763 and 1768 by the architect Gabriel, requested by Madame de Pompadour, mistress then friend of king Louis XV.
Madame de Pompadour, who wished to “relieve the king’s boredom” — though no longer his mistress, she remained his friend — was the instigator of this small château, built by architect Gabriel between 1763 and 1768. It was erected near the Botanical Garden and the new menagerie, as Louis XV had a keen interest in the sciences. To please the marquise, always at the forefront of fashion, the king’s architect broke away from the rococo aesthetic and adopted a cubic form with very pure lines, in keeping with the brand-new “Greek style” then in vogue.

Its simplicity is only apparent, for each façade is different, designed in relation to the space it overlooks: the courtyard, the French Garden with its elegant pavilion, the Botanical Garden, and the Florist’s Garden.

Inside, one finds the same modernity of style. Simpler than the rest of the estate, the decoration of the Petit Trianon lies not in lavish materials — gilding is almost absent — but in the refinement of its sculptures, in a château entirely dedicated to nature.

Madame de Pompadour died in 1764 and never saw the château completed. Today, it is above all the memory of Marie-Antoinette that it evokes. In 1774, Louis XVI gave the Trianon estate to his wife, who was able to live here a life apart — too much so for some — from the Court.