VERSAILLES TRANSFORMED BY BEAUTIFUL GLASS NOW
JEAN-MICHEL OTHONIEL
For the first time in 300 years, the landscape of Versailles is getting transformed. A new major glass art installation will give the famous royal landmark gardens new life and a new level of beauty.
In 2011, the Versailles estate launched a design competition in its quest to refurbish its Water Theater Grove site.
French glass artist Jean-Michel Othoniel and renowned landscaper artist Louis Benech partnered to create an incredible glass art installation, which won the competition, beating out 140 other entrants.
The piece, called Les Belles Danses, is a three-part sculpture inspired by ballets performed for Louis XIV. It is based on an obscure dance annotation system developed for Louis XIV by Roger-Auger Feuillet in 1701.
Beautiful glass bubbles, embellished with gold leaf, were strung, to form giant glass pearl necklaces, “choreographed” to “dance” with the garden’s reflecting pools and fountains. The three pieces are titled 'The Entrance of Apollo', 'The Rigadoon of Peace' and the 'Bourée of Achilles'.
The Grove was originally designed by Louis XVI as a space for theater and dance performances. But when Othoniel began the project, the gardens were quite wild. The formal gardens and fountains in the Grove had been destroyed by Louis XVI himself to make way for lawns, then were further damaged by a storm in 1999. They were totally overgrown and closed off to the public.
Othoniel endeavored to bring something contemporary, sensual, and light to the formal garden, as well as to create a place and space for contemplation.
Othoniel employed glass blowers in Murano and Basel to produce the 1,750 gilded glass balls he needed for the sculptures. He worked with the fountain engineers of Versailles to design and plan the installation.
After spending much of this year working it out, Othoniel will finish the installation this month and preview the spectacle during FIAC in October, before a grand opening next May.
Othoniel has installed his mammoth glass sculptures in other historical places, including in the garden of the Villa Medici in Rome, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection's in Venice, Italy, the Alhambra gardens in Granada, and in the Mesopotamian Room at the Louvre.
Read more about Beautiful Glass, as they relate to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact including 10 Beautiful Glass Books Now, The Universe in an Orb of Glass -- Now, 10 Fine Art Glass Finds for Fine Dining Now and Astonishing Glass Art Happening Right Now.
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PHOTO CREDITS:
- Photo: by Philippe Chancel. ‘The Entrance of Apollo’ fountain sculpture by Jean-Michel Othoniel.
- Rendering: Courtesy of Othoniel Studio. Fountains by Jean-Michel Othoniel.
- Rendering: Courtesy of Othoniel Studio. Fountains by Jean-Michel Othoniel.
- Rendering: by Jean-Michel Othoniel. A watercolor sketch of the fountain sculptures.
- Photo: by Philippe Chancel. ‘The Entrance of Apollo’ fountain sculpture.
- Photo: Courtesy of Othoniel Studio. Jean-Michel Othoniel cast aluminum of ‘The Rigadoon Peace’ in polished stainless steel mirror.
- Photo: by Philippe Chancel. ‘The Entrance of Apollo’ fountain-sculpture, awaits transport to its outdoor Versailles location.
- Photo: Courtesy of Clyne. Part of the Le Belles Danses Sculptural fountains by Jean-Michel Othoniel.
- Photo: Courtesy of Othoniel Studio. Jean-Michel Othoniel cast aluminum of ‘The Rigadoon Peace’ in polished stainless steel mirror.
- Photo: Courtesy of Taste Traveler. Large Double Lacan’s Knot by Jean-Michel Othoniel.
