Finally, pictures of the inside of the Musée Condé!
(Maybe it's not a bad idea to take a peek at this first, although it's not totally correct, it'll give you some context: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Chantilly)
Gallerie des Cerfs, which used to be the grand dining room, and now houses an exhibition on Henry IV.
Gallerie de Peinture, the large painting gallery. Note that the only light is coming from the giant window on the ceiling--the chateau was rebuilt in the 19th century to house the art collection.
The French side of the gallery (other side is Italian, plus Nicholas Poussin).
Cabinet des Livres, aka the library which holds maybe 1/4th of the entire collection. On display are a number of illuminated manuscripts and books which reference regicide (an exhibit which goes with the one on Henry IV).
And now, your very own private tour of the Grand Apartments!
Room #1 La Salle du Guard, Guard Room. Military mementos from various owners of the Chateau, as well as a painting of one of the most celebrated princes of Condé, Louis II of Bourbon, "le Grand Condé." Very wealthy, very powerful, very successful military general, and a cousin of Louis XIV. And yet, despite it all, really ugly.
On the door, the symbol for Henry of Orleans, the last owner of the chateau, who was responsible for rebuilding the grand chateau after it was destroyed during the Revolution, and for redecorating the small chateau when it was sacked.
Room #2 La Chambre de M. le Prince. So, originally the bedroom, which now doesn't even have a bed. It was redecorated post-Rev, and it was redecorated to be put on show, instead of to be lived in (the small, private apartments were more comfortable). The piece in the back belonged to Louis XIV at Versailles, and the paintings are by Christophe Huet, 1737.
Room #4 Le Grand Singerie (Large Monkey Room). These were actually all the rage in the 18th century, because of all the exploration of and trade with the Orient, and there used to be dozens, but most were destroyed or redecorated. Also Huet, 1735.
There are 12 different scenes (6 large, 6 smaller) which are all allegories (albeit, loose ones...) of activities, arts or sciences.
#5, Battle Gallery, which was inspired by the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. Near the end of the Grand Condé's life, (end 17th century) he felt as though his military exploits hadn't been properly appreciated, so he commissioned 11 paintings to commemorate his greatest victories.
"Le Repentir," The Repentance of the Grand Condé. Huge allegory of repentance (commissioned by his son after his death)... The question is... What for? Oh right, for those years he spent leading a revolt against the regent Mazarin, when Louis XIV was too young to rule. The interesting thing is that a. he never actually repented for what he did and b. he was pardoned and eventually returned to military service. It's good to be powerful!
A map desk, very useful piece of furniture... Also, one of the very first neoclassical pieces, made soon after the discovery of Pompeii in the mid 18th century. See the columns for legs and the Greek geometric design? It's really an evolutionary link, if you will, smack between two styles... Which is why it looks so odd.
Room #6, the Music Room (although it was never used for music but as a "Curiosity Museum"). Portrait of le Duc de Bourbon, the last Prince of Condé. He ruled from about 1770 until 1830, although he spent about 25 years exiled in England during the Rev. When he died in 1830, the entire domain passed to his grand nephew, Henry of Orleans, le Duc d'Aumale, son of Louis-Philippe Roi des Français, who was 8 years old.
Down the service staircase... Mind you don't break your neck... Actually, it's the castle's natural booby trap: steep, twisty stairs, a low ceiling, and loose tiles to top it off. We're so going to get sued one of these days...
Room #7, the Duban Gallery. Basically a glorified hallway made to connect the small apartments.
It's decorated with the coats of arms of all the families that have owned the chateau over the last 1,100 years (Bouteillers de Senlis, Orgemont, Montmorency, Bourbon, Orleans). Here's the Orleans crest, which is basically the royal crest, but with something added to show that they're a different branch of the same family.
I hope you enjoyed your tour... :) If you have questions, ask me! I like babbling on about the history of the place :)
So, after about 45 minutes of wandering around the Saint Denis, hopelessly lost... I stumbled across it! Big, intimidating, tall, kinda fortress-like (I mean, it was the middles ages...), three decorated portals, rose window... :)
Note the one bell tower. The other was taller and pointier (kinda New England church style), but was taken down in the 19th century because of some structural problem.
Rose window from the inside.
Upper left side of the choir. Love the stained glass!
Nave, facing west, right at the transept. Note the organ and the fantastic vaulted ceilings.
North side of the nave... Like the smoke? There was a group from a German tv station there to get some footage, and they wanted smoke to help catch the rays of sun. How cool!
Nothing better than finding a star of David in a Basilica :)
So, while Reims is where pretty much ever French king was crowned, Saint Denis is where they were all buried. Seriously, ALL of them, from the Merovingian kings to Louis XVIII.
Ceiling of the ambulatory. I LOVE these ceilings. Seriously, they're probably my favorite part.
Central window of the choir, with Saint Denis who is walking around, carrying his head after it was chopped off with an axe. Ah, zombies...
Have I mentioned how much I love these ceilings? They look like dragon scales or something...
