Completion of the Petit Trianon
- When
- 1765–1769
- Where
- Petit Trianon, park of the Palace of Versailles; Petit Trianon interiors; Petit Trianon; Petit Trianon dining room
- Episodes
- 5
The Petit Trianon, a Neoclassical château in the park of Versailles designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel for Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour, was completed in 1768. Pompadour had died before completion, and the inauguration was associated with Madame du Barry. Interior work, including sculpture and paintings, continued into 1769, when the mechanical tables project was also entrusted to Gamain and Richer.
Episodes
- Finishing Campaigns of 1765–1768
Sculptures, joinery, metalwork, and painting were completed during the 1765 to 1768 campaigns, including Guibert's Medusa bas-relief.
- Completion of the Petit Trianon
The château was finished in 1768, four years after Madame de Pompadour's death, and inaugurated by Madame du Barry.
- Caresme Door-Top Painting Commission
On 22 March 1768 Louis XV commissioned Jacques-Philippe Caresme to paint two door-top pictures inspired by Ovid's Metamorphoses.
- Dining Room Paintings and First Royal Dinner
Paintings for the dining room were executed in 1769, and Louis XV first dined there in September 1769 on a crimson damask armchair.
- Mechanical Tables Project Entrusted to Gamain and Richer
In 1769, after the process was exhibited at the Louvre in May, work for Trianon was entrusted to the locksmith Gamain and the mechanic Richer.
Background and detail
Background. The Petit Trianon was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel by order of Louis XV for his mistress, Madame de Pompadour, and constructed between 1762 and 1768 in the park of the Palace of Versailles. Built for Pompadour, who died before it was completed, it is considered a masterpiece of Neoclassicism, combining modern taste with integration into the surrounding natural environment.
Completion and Inauguration. The château was not completed until 1768, four years after the death of Madame de Pompadour. It was inaugurated by Madame du Barry in 1768, almost twenty years after the first gardens were laid out in the King's new garden. No female furniture was included in the 1768 orders, since Pompadour had died four years earlier.
Finishing Campaigns. During the campaigns of 1765 to 1768, the sculptures, joinery, metalwork, and painting were completed. Honoré Guibert, who executed all the sculptures in the Petit Trianon, finished a bas-relief of a Medusa head on the first floor landing in 1765. On 22 March 1768, Louis XV commissioned Jacques-Philippe Caresme to paint two door-top pictures inspired by Ovid's Metamorphoses.
People involved
- Louis XV · King of France, who ordered and completed the Petit Trianon
- Ange-Jacques Gabriel · Architect who designed the Petit Trianon
- Madame de Pompadour · Intended occupant, who died before completion
- Madame du Barry · Presided over the 1768 inauguration
- Honoré Guibert · Sculptor who executed all the sculptures in the Petit Trianon
- Jacques-Philippe Caresme · Painter commissioned in 1768 for door-top pictures
- Gamain · Locksmith entrusted with the Trianon mechanical tables work in 1769
- Richer · Mechanic entrusted with the Trianon mechanical tables work in 1769
Sources
- Petit Trianon Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-01
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.