Walk in Versailles

Country: Spain

Manufactory: Lladro

Date of establishment: 1978

Sculptor: Vicente Martinez

Height (cm): 40

Porcelain Story

Versailles - how much has merged in this word  for visitors!... Most of those who at different times had a chance to visit the Palace of Versailles, probably remembered it in different ways. To some, the unimaginable size of the palace buildings. To some, the richness in decoration of huge halls and royal chambers and offices. To some, an incredibly beautiful park of almost a hundred hectares, for the creation of which King Louis XIV ordered to transport entire forests in order to decorate future alleys and groves with plants. In total, Louis spent an amount comparable to 10,500 tons of silver or, in terms of current money, hundreds of billions of euros for the construction of the palace complex in Versailles! ..

But, probably, the king knew well why he created all this pompous beauty. Because from the moment of its introduction, in modern terms, into operation, Versailles became the actual capital of French life for almost a hundred years. Almost all the richest people in the country were forced to be with the king during his stay there. Those who dared to leave the palace without the highest permission could lose their ranks and privileges. So they all suffered together under royal supervision.

On an excursion to Versailles, I was impressed not only by the amount of expenses spent on the construction of the complex and not only by the total number of staff in the palace (6 thousand people!), but by the story of the annual relocation of the royal court with all the servants from Paris to Versailles. The succession of carriages of nobles and persons accompanying them (as well as a string of cargo carts with all the necessary utensils) stretched so far that it was said that when the first carriage entered Versailles, the last one had just left Paris ...

Today's figurine is a tribute to the classical tradition of European porcelain. It is graceful and light. It is beautiful and significant. It is simply charming, as amazing corners of the Palace of Versailles are charming, a visit to which remains in memory forever.