Théodore Charpentier, most likely selected on the recommendation of Ary Scheffer, was commissioned in 1835 to redesign Marie's studio in the Tuileries as a salon. He had already proven his ability to assimilate styles of the past, having built a neo-Gothic manor for the poet Alcide de Beauchesne. Later he would gain renown for his scenic designs (Salle Favart). For Marie's salon, Charpentier installed a décor offering considerable theatrical flair, with a Renaissance-style coffered ceiling, a sculpted wooden cornice, windows and doors curtained in crimson damask within an atmosphere softened by stained-glass panels (Salon of Princess Marie in the Tuileries). And yet, although in imagining the decoration of her neo-Gothic salon the Princess d'Orléans had expressed her Gothic sentiments, Charpentier left behind fantasy and troubadour-style approximations in favor of greater historical accuracy. Marie filled this space with furniture specially created for the salon, after designs by Théodore Charpentier, by the sculptor and ornamentalist Michel-Victor Cruchet and the cabinetmaker Charles-François Petit (Fretwork Fence) as well as antique pieces, most of which were purchased in Belgium and also restored under the direction of the architect. The purpose of this restoration work, which may seem rather ill-advised from today's perspective, was to harmonize these furnishings and adapt them to their modern use (Credenza, known as the Gothic Secretary). This salon therefore provided the ideal backdrop for Marie's works, such as the sculpture of Joan of Arc on horseback. This subject was a favorite theme of the princess and she executed a version with Joan of Arc standing for the Musée d'Histoire de France at Versailles, which thereafter became a very popular and widely disseminated work.

Related events and publications

Catalogue

Marie d'Orléans, 1813-1839, edited by Anne Dion-Tenenbaum and Nicole

Garnier-Pelle, joint catalogue for both exhibitions, co-published by Musée du

Louvre Editions and Somogy, 250 p., €32.

The publication of this work was sponsored by Arjowiggins.

In the Auditorium du Louvre

Art on stage, Wednesday, May 14 et 12:30 p.m.: Credenza, known as the

Gothic Secretary by Anne Dion-Tenenbaum, Musée du Louvre.

Series of conférences on The rise of the Neo -Gothic in France: Mondays, May

19, 26 and Jube 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Louvre and Saturday, June 7 at 3 p.m. at

the Château de Chantilly.

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