Molenaarshuis bij het Klein Trianon in de tuinen van Versailles 1887 - 1900

This photograph, taken by an anonymous photographer, captures the Molenaarshuis or Miller's House in the gardens of Versailles, likely in the late 19th or early 20th century. The thatched roof, a prominent feature, evokes an idealized rustic simplicity that was fashionable among the aristocracy. This motif of the rural idyll as a retreat has deep roots. Consider Marie Antoinette's Hameau, a similar constructed village, designed to provide an escape from the pressures of court life. Here, we see a yearning for the uncomplicated, echoing Virgil’s Eclogues, where shepherds and fields represent a harmonious existence away from urban anxieties. But in the Hameau, the artificiality is palpable: the carefully arranged 'naturalness' speaks to a deeper psychological desire to reconnect with primal simplicity, albeit through a lens of power and privilege. It is the same recurring fantasy, where each iteration reflects not only a historical period but also a continuing, evolving, and deeply human desire.