« ... en France tout le monde entre et passe par les appartemens du Roy » : vie privée et sphère publique dans les châteaux français et allemands autour de 1700

Abstract

In the 17th and 18th centuries, many travellers visited the principal centres of European power. Their accounts help us to decipher networks, localise objects, recreate opinions and trace the genesis of models, and perhaps even to establish a court culture ‘best of’. However, in the present article, we will focus above all on the question of whether these travellers’ accounts tell us anything about the perception of so-called ‘private’ and ‘public’ spaces. With the appropriate caution dictated by the delicate interpretation of the concept of ‘private life’, we will attempt to see if (and in what way) the various cultural and social influences on travellers also conditioned their perception of spaces and, in the process, had an impact on their perception of art and architecture. At any rate, it should be borne in mind that in the châteaux and residences of the Holy Roman Empire a form of restriction was part of the mise en scène, while in French châteaux – in particular that of Versailles – it was opening up that played a key role in the representational strategy.

Keywords

• private life
• public sphere
• ceremonial
• residences
• châteaux
• travelogue