Deel van Le Hameau de la Reine in de Tuin van Versailles c. 1850 - 1875

This is a stereoscopic photograph by PL, Paris, depicting a view of Le Hameau de la Reine in the Garden of Versailles. The image offers us a glimpse into the contrived pastoral fantasies of the French aristocracy. The Hameau, or Queen’s Hamlet, was built for Marie Antoinette in the 1780s, a time of growing social unrest and economic inequality in France. The image creates meaning through the visual contrast between the rustic, idealized village and the opulence of the Palace of Versailles, highlighting the artificiality and detachment of the French court from the realities of rural life. This constructed rurality acted as a theatrical stage for the Queen and her entourage, where they could perform the roles of milkmaids and farmers, further alienating them from the struggles of the common people. The photograph itself, made some years later, serves as a document of this social history. To better understand this image, one might explore the history of Versailles, the political climate of pre-revolutionary France, and the cultural symbolism of pastoral imagery in art and literature.