I find it nearly impossible to resist a scarf that evokes ‘jardins’ and ‘Versailles’ within its design. This is certainly the case with Christiane Vauzelles’ Les Jardins de Versailles (or Châteaux-Jardins, believed to be the official title).
This elusive 1963 design has been variously referred to as Jardin or Jardins de Versailles, and Châteaux-Jardins, with the latter likely being its official release name.
Intriguingly, one edition, possibly the very first, bears Madame Vauzelles’ signature—a remarkable occurrence, as she, like Grygkar and a few other artists, rarely if ever signed her work.
(courtesy wikimedia: gags9999 )
Both the focal point of this carre, and the Gardens at Versailles, is the gilded Apollo Fountain or the Le Bassin d’Apollon, an incredible statue and beautiful water feature that is between the formal gardens, le Petit Parc, and the Grand Canal beyond. Apollo rising out of the water with his four chariots coming to enlighten the earth.
The sun god, Apollo, was a favorite of Louis XIV, the self-proclaimed Sun King, who was responsible for much of Versailles as we know it today.
As we expand our view away from the fountain, we gaze down at four formal French-Style gardens that Madame Vauzelles arranged in a circle around the fountain, each bearing the name of a Loire Valley chateau: Maintenon, Chenonceaux, Fontainebleau and Rambouillet.
In Madame Vauzelles’ composition the Orangerie encircles these four gardens and at Versailles, the Orangerie is also at its most spectacular when viewed from above.
(photos courtesy http://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/gardens/orangery )
Finishing off the carre are other chateau names neatly tucked into formal garden beds and all carefully fenced in by Orangerie’s intricate railings.
With the Châteaux-Jardins draped over your shoulder you might just feel a bit like royalty no matter where your footsteps take you… be it the Gardens of Versailles or Central Park, or simply down a wooded path…
