Quick Treasure: An Afternoon at the Trianon

There's something special about vintage photographs of people, whether it's someone's personal family pictures or a photograph eventually used en masse for postcards like the image below. A simple photograph can bring about a thousand questions--most of them unanswerable and yet still fun to think about.

This particular postcard of the chateau at the Petit Trianon depicts a woman gazing at the fountains below, along with a smaller group of people walking in the background. Who is the woman in the foreground? Why was she visiting Versailles that day? Was she alone? Or did she come with friends? Did she visit for the history or just to go along with the recommendations of friends or family?

Perhaps she was visiting the palace with a few companions, but became bored of the gilded palace or her compatriots, and decided to stroll to the Petit Trianon on her own, looking for fresher air and peace of mind. Maybe the moment captured forever by this unknown photographer was a moment of quiet reflection at the end of a tiring afternoon filled with gossip or petty chatter.

Or maybe not. But it's always nice to imagine!

credit: my collection