More Autochromes of Life at Versailles by Jules Gervais-Courtellemont

I am in love with the soft, dreamy quality of Jules Gervais-Courtellemont's autochromes of costumed actors at Versailles. I was fortunate enough to find some vintage prints of these autochromes, so I am sharing a few more that weren't in my previous posts, or were only there with watermarks from other websites.

 credit: Jules Gervais-Courtellemont, scanned from my collection 

 credit: Jules Gervais-Courtellemont, scanned from my collection 

 credit: Jules Gervais-Courtellemont, scanned from my collection 

credit: Jules Gervais-Courtellemont, scanned from my collection

Quick Treasure: Another Versailles Autochrome by Jules-Gervais Courtellemont

I've really fallen in love with these romantic autochromes of players/actors at Versailles, taken by Jules-Gervais Courtellemont. This next scan is of a print made from an autochrome, but is still lovely nonetheless.

 

image: players reenact life at the Temple of Love

credit: my collection

Even More Jules Gervais-Courtellemont Autochromes of Life at Versailles

Earlier this summer, I posted a small collection of Jules Gervais-Courtellemont autochromes/autochrome prints of "life at Versailles," as portrayed by 1920s re-enactment players. Since then, I've been lucky enough to add to my small collection of prints made from Courtellemont's autochromes!

I can't get enough of the nostalgic, almost whimsical feeling they inspire. They are like romantic snapshots of a moment forever frozen in time... two companions taking a stroll through the gardens, a noblewoman making her entrance into the Hall of Mirrors--the queen herself,  lost in the tranquility of her hamlet.

  

Players at the Fountains of Versailles

credit: my collection

 

Players in the Hall of Mirrors

credit: my collection

 

Player at the hamlet of Marie Antoinette

credit: my collection

Jules Gervais-Courtellemont's autochromes of life at Versailles

Jules Gervais-Courtellemont (1863-1931) was a French photographer who is most well known for his color autochromes of World War I, which were so popular that Courtellemont had them published in a 12 volume series. In addition to his photography of the battlefield, Courtellemont also took many photographs of scenes of homes, landscapes and people. His composition style, especially when taking photographs of people, was often intimate but deliberately artistic. Courtellemont loved using symbolism, such as ensuring that certain colors or people were distanced or contrasted with others, to create an appearance of structured--and yet realistic--life.

My favorite Courtellemont autochromes are, perhaps not surprisingly, his photographs of some historical players at Versailles, taken in 1925. Unfortunately, I've only been able to find a few of these stunning autochromes without watermarks, but I hope the beauty of these photographs still shines through.

 

Players Portray Life at the Queen’s Hamlet 

image credit: my collection

 

Actors in Period Costumes Perform Among the Flowerbeds of Versailles
image credit: allposters

 

Players Reenact Life at the Queen's Hamlet

image credit: fine art america

 

Costumed Actors Look Toward the Chateau of Versailles from the Garden

image credit: allposters

 

Blindman's Bluff as played in the time of Marie Antoinette

image credit: ebay

 

Players Sit in Gardens Outside Thatched Cottages in the Petit Trianon

image credit: allposters

 

Players at the Temple of Love

image credit: art.com