Palace of Versailles at sunset, Yvelines, France (N48°48’ E2°07’) Card 170x120mm with recycled envelope and biodegradable cello. Detailed caption on the reverse of the card. Card is blank for your own message.
Palace of Versailles at sunset, Yvelines, France (N48°48’ E2°07’)
The glorious Palace of Versailles with its magnificent gardens were modelled on the Baroque château Vaux-Le-Vicomte, owned by the French Finance Minister Le Fouquet, who invited the young King Louis XIV to visit in 1661. The grandeur and splendour of Vaux was realised through the collaboration of the architect Le Vau, the interior designer Le Brun and the landscape gardener, André Le Nôtre. Their joint expertise secured Vaux’s reputation as the grandest and most spectacular Château of its period. The King was so overwhelmed by the splendour of his Minister’s residence, that he ordered an investigation of Le Fouquet, who had amassed a huge personal fortune whilst also replenishing the Royal Treasury. Louis arrested Le Fouquet on a charge of treason, since his ostentation and luxurious lifestyle seemed to surpass that of the King himself. Louis commissioned Le Vau to extend the Palace of Versailles; the work began in 1661; and Le Nôtre to design the gardens, which are laid out in an impressively grand classical French style, using geometrically-shaped flower beds, fountains, ornamental lakes, canals and avenues lined with statuary, over an area of 250 acres. The Palace and the Gardens remain a magnet for tourists to the present day.
© Yann arthus-Bertrand/altitude - www.yannarthusbertrand.org - www.goodplanet.org
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