The Cannes Film Festival opens in 2023 with a historical film retracing the fascinating story of the courtesan Jeanne du Barry, directed by Maïwenn, herself playing the role of the favorite, alongside Johnny Depp, dressed as Louis XV. A wonderful opportunity to follow in the footsteps of this astonishing, liberated woman, from her childhood to her last days, which she spent in the Île-de-France region. Between Versailles, Louveciennes and Paris, we discover the places that shaped her life, as well as some of the film's locations!
Initially a woman of the people, the young Jeanne Bécu, known as Mademoiselle Vaubernier, managed to rise socially until she met the King of France, Louis XV, who fell in love with her. Now Madame du Barry, she succeeded Madame de Pompadour, scandalized the court and left a lasting mark on the end of the century as the monarch's last official favorite. The latter installed her at Versailles in 1768, where she spent many years at his side, despite the scheming of the Duc de Choiseul and the contempt of the dauphine Marie-Antoinette.
Expelled from the court on the death of the king, she had to recluse herself in an abbey, then led a life of exile on her estate at Château de Louveciennes, ending up guillotined like Louis XVI and his wife.
Jeanne Bécu spent the first years of her life in Vaucouleurs, before boarding with the Dames de Saint-Aure on rue Neuve-Sainte-Geneviève, now rue Tournefort, in Paris's 5th arrondissement. Her mother, a seamstress, worked for a number of noblemen, who befriended the young girl and gave her a good education. An excellent pupil, she mastered drawing, history, arithmetic, music, religion and writing, enabling her to rise easily in society. She left boarding school in 1758, at the age of fifteen.
Today, the convent, which inspired Victor Hugo 's Les Misérables, is a listed building complex comprising residential buildings set around a garden.
Officially the king's favorite, Jeanne had to live at the Château de Versailles, and her first apartments were located in the North Wing, close to the chapel and overlooking the Royal Courtyard. Later, between 1769 and 1774, an apartment was dedicated to her on the second floor, entirely renovated for her, close to the king's private apartments.
Madame Du Barry’s Apartment at the Palace of Versailles has been renovated
Madame Du Barry’s Apartment is opening again in the heart of the Palace of Versailles, after 18 months of renovations. For the opening of King Louis XV exhibition – of whom she was the last favorite – rediscover these 350sqm through a dozen rooms decorated in a singular and sumptuous fashion. [Read more]
In July 1769, Louis XV granted Madame du Barry a royal patent for the Château de Louveciennes in the Yvelines. Comprising a music pavilion, a park and the château, enlarged and redecorated by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, the King's first architect, for the favorite, the estate was Jeanne's last residence, until her death in 1793. It was she who commissioned the architect Claude-Nicolas Ledoux to build the reception pavilion, in order to have a view of the Seine, which she lacked.
In the French film, you can also recognize images shot in part at the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, Champs-sur-Marne and, of course, the Château de Versailles, notably in the courtyard and gardens.
The Château de Vaux le Vicomte and its gardens, a fabulous estate in Seine-et-Marne
The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, 50 km from Paris, is one of the jewels of the Île-de-France region: its beauty even inspired the Château de Versailles. Come and visit this French heritage treasure, and its gardens, which offer great walks and activities for children. [Read more]
The Château de Versailles, a witness to French history just a stone's throw from Paris
Located southwest of Paris, in the Yvelines department, the Château de Versailles is one of the region's most visited tourist sites. With 7 million visitors a year (approximately), the estate offers visitors the chance to immerse themselves in history - history with a capital H - and in the daily life of the court between the 17th and 18th centuries. [Read more]
Dates and Opening Time
Starts November 21, 2024
Location
Palace of Versailles
Place d'Armes
78000 Versailles
