On June 22, 2023, the monograph titled "Empfindsamkeitsarchitektur. Der »Hameau de la Reine« in Versailles" ("Architechture of the Age of Sentiment. The »Hameau de la Reine« in Versailles") by Felix Vogel was published by Diaphanes Verlag.
On June 22, 2023, the monograph titled "Empfindsamkeitsarchitektur. Der »Hameau de la Reine« in Versailles" ("Architechture of the Age of Sentiment. The »Hameau de la Reine« in Versailles") by Felix Vogel was published by Diaphanes Verlag.
The Hameau de la Reine, commissioned by Marie-Antoinette and built between 1783 and 1789 by Richard Mique, is an ensemble of twelve farmhouses arranged around an artificial pond in the park of the Petit Trianon in Versailles. However, this seemingly vernacular complex harbors a contradiction: while some of the rustic buildings were inhabited by the working staff or used for agricultural production, others served courtly pleasure. The external dirt was painted on, while the interiors revealed opulent furnishings in parts.
Based on previously unconsidered archival sources, Felix Vogel reconstructs the origins, functions, and history of use of the Hameau de la Reine against the backdrop of the emerging age of sentiment. His multifaceted study of the well-known garden estate explores the objecthood of architecture, the status of displayed bodies, utility as an aesthetic category, and the artificial creation of naturalness as central themes that hold significance beyond Versailles: in the Hameau de la Reine, authenticity becomes an aesthetic calculus whose traces extend to the present day.
The book can be ordered from local bookstores or directly from the publisher. An open-access version is available from Éditions de la Maison des sciences de l’homme.