The Duchess de Polignac replaced the Princess de Lamballe as Marie Antoinette’s favourite. Contemporaries praised her jubilant spirit and “utter naturalness”. Photo: Courtesy of Sony Let them eat cake" is the traditional translation of the French phrase " Qu'ils mangent de la brioche", [1] said to have been spoken in the 18th century by "a great princess" upon being told that the peasants had no bread. The French phrase mentions brioche, a bread enriched with butter and eggs, considered a luxury food. The quote is taken to reflect either the princess's frivolous disregard for the starving peasants or her poor understanding of their plight. Argento: Madame du Barry was a kind of mythological figure. She was a courtesan who became the king’s lover, and even though he made her a Comtesse, she was not aristocratic. I could relate to du Barry feeling like she never belonged. She endured a rough life to get where she did and become the king’s favourite. The spoiled brats at Versailles despised her because she wasn’t like them, so she created this glamorous façade to protect herself. “We Wanted the Film to Feel Fashionable”

A Franco-Austrian alliance was certainly a controversial development, as many people in each country hated the other; prior to the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), King Louis XV of France (r. 1715-1774) himself had been an enemy of Maria Theresa. Yet following that conflict, the weakened Kingdom of France had begrudgingly entered into an alliance of necessity with Austria, with both nations agreeing that such an alliance should be solidified with a marriage. It was eventually decided that Maria Antonia would be married to Louis XV's grandson, Louis-Auguste, Duke of Berry (l. 1754-1793) who had become heir and dauphin of France upon the death of his father in 1766. So, after a proxy marriage and a renunciation of all claims to Habsburg lands, Maria Antonia set off for France to meet her new husband and arrived in Versailles on 14 May 1770, aged only 14. Along with the title of dauphine, she also adopted the French version of her name: Marie Antoinette. Dauphine of FranceThe increasing unpopularity of Marie Antoinette in the final years before the outbreak of the French Revolution also likely influenced many to attribute the phrase to her. During her marriage to Louis XVI, her critics often cited her perceived frivolousness and very real extravagance as factors that significantly worsened France's dire financial straits. [8] Her Austrian birth and her gender also diminished her credibility further in a country where xenophobia and chauvinism were beginning to exert major influence in national politics. [9] While the causes of France's economic woes extended far beyond the royal family's spending, anti-monarchist polemics demonized Marie Antoinette as Madame Déficit, who had single-handedly ruined France's finances. [10] These libellistes printed stories and articles vilifying her family and their courtiers with exaggerations, fictitious anecdotes, and outright lies. In the tempestuous political climate, it would have been a natural slander to put the famous words into the mouth of the widely scorned queen. But by the time she took the throne, everything had changed. In Queen of Fashion, Caroline Weber tells of the radical restyling that transformed the young queen into an icon and shaped the future of the nation. With her riding gear, her white furs,… How much talent and energy did Elisabeth Vigée - Le Brun have to develop to be one of the best portraits painter of her time?

Coppola: Usually when you have a successful film, you get one free pass to make something you’re passionate about. After Lost in Translation, I thought I could use that pass on Marie Antoinette because it was gonna be such an expensive film.In December 1795, seventeen-year-old Marie-Therese, the only surviving child of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, fled Paris's notorious Temple Prison. Kept in solitary confinement after her parents' brutal execution during the Terror, she had been unaware of the fate of her family, save the cries she heard of her young brother being tortured in an adjacent cell. She emerged to an uncertain future: an orphan, exile and focus of political plots and marriage schemes of the crowned heads of Europe. Susan Nagel tells a remarkable story of an astonishing woman whose life was shrouded in mystery, from her birth in… Nighy: I was finishing my second year of literature studies at the time, so during shooting I was also preparing for a six-hour Chaucer exam. I got to stay in a very nice hotel and wear these gorgeous costumes everyday and then go home to read Chaucer every night. What a loser, right? Whilst I was born in America, growing up in an old Irish family with a long history and a powerful sense of its past, I learnt a great deal of Irish, British, and European (especially French) history from an early age – proving valuable in both of my careers – one, as an international business lawyer, the other as a full-time writer of historical fiction. As a result of a “very Irish” numinous connection with the Gaelic poet, Eileen O’Connell, I frequently find myself drawn to books about strong, courageous, and memorable women – particularly those who lived in interesting times, such as the tumultuous days of Sixteenth and Eighteenth-Century Europe.

Filming the “masked ball” sequence at the Palais Garnier opera house, a Parisian landmark. Photo: Leigh Johnson The Book of Jin, a 7th-century chronicle of the Chinese Jin Dynasty, reports that when Emperor Hui (259–307) of Western Jin was told that his people were starving because there was no rice, he said, "Why don't they eat porridge with (ground) meat?" (何不食肉糜), showing his unfitness. [15] [16] See also [ edit ] I grew up in Bordeaux, a city that became prominent during the eighteenth century. My hometown inspired my love of eighteenth-century French studies, which led me to the Sorbonne, then to Yale University where I earned a PhD. Today, I am an Associate Professor at The Ohio State University. I am the author of eight novels and monographs published in France and the US, including American Pandemonium, Posthumous America, and Sentinel Island. My work explores numerous genres to question a number of recurring themes: exile and the representation of otherness; nostalgia and the experience of bereavement; the social impact of new technologies; America’s history and its troubled present.

Asia Argento, Madame du Barry: I was surprised when Sofia asked me to be du Barry without even meeting me. I was shooting in France at the time and we were all talking about the big Marie Antoinette movie coming to town. Everyone in the business was curious about it, so I was very flattered when she thought of me for a role.

Corinne Deveroux, Marie Antoinette choreographer: Sofia said, “Corinne, can you create classical choreography for modern music?” and I said, “But of course.” She really wanted to use “Hong Kong Garden” for the ball scene because that was the first type of music to get an emotional reaction out of her as a teenager. I said I’d find a way to make it work. Dunst: Hair took a very long time. Each morning was an event because Sofia liked my hairline and didn’t want me to wear a wig. Odile would put these spongy rings in my hair to form a base, and then apply pieces on top. She used full cans of this dry shampoo called Klorane so my hair wouldn’t break. Make-up, thankfully, was very fast because it was just rosy cheeks and pale skin. I didn’t even wear mascara. Coppola: I asked the Phoenix guys to do a really small cameo and they ended up in fittings for six hours. They were such a small part, but she still wanted to make sure they looked perfect. Faithfull: I always thought Sofia’s film was a masterpiece. People are not always understood as the geniuses they are at the time – I don’t think I have been! But with time one gets proper recognition. People will only come to understand Sofia’s vision more as time goes by. I haven’t had much of an acting career so Marie Antoinette is something I’m very proud of. Another problem with the dates surrounding the attribution is that when the phrase first appeared, Marie Antoinette was not only too young to have said it, but living outside France as well. Although published in 1782, Rousseau's Confessions were finished thirteen years prior in 1769. Marie Antoinette, only fourteen years old at the time, would not arrive at Versailles from Austria until 1770. Since she was completely unknown to him at the time of writing, she could not have possibly been the "great princess" he mentioned. [14] Other attributions [ edit ]An epic generational tale of loves lost, promises kept, dreams broken, and monarchies shattered, To Dance with Kings is a story of passion and privilege, humble beginnings and limitless ambition.