The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-13 00:00:00

THE E.2IIPRESS'S APARTMENTS AT
THE TUILERIES.

A correspondent of the Independence Bela*
writes :—" I had the good fortune to visit the other
day the private apartments of the Empress them
Tuileries. Workmen had been engaged on
for two years, during the absence of their lkia.lare!"
ties. These suites of rooms, which run in a pal-
lel line with the reception rooms on the drawing-
room floor, consist of an ante-chamber, a waitin
room for the ladies of honour, a saloon of audience,
a private room for her Majesty ; that is to say, the
most retired and private of the suite.
" The Empress, whose preference for the style of
Louis XVI. is well known, has desired her apart-
ments in question to be entirely decorated after the
fashion and taste of Marie Antoinette. M. Lefuel
received orders to renew the elegant ornaraen:
tation of Trianon in this Parisian palace. Art
and industry have done marvels under his super-
intendence, so that we see again the graceful
arabesques, the rounded tapering volutes, the ex-
quisite garlands, and the fine carvings of the latter
art of the eighteenth century. All the models are
unique, and executed with admirable nicety, foul,
the door handles to the chimney pieces, the We's
and squares of glass, and the whole furniture, from
the timepieces to the tongs in the fireplace, is ill
harmony with this style of decoration.
" The first saloon, of a pale green, ;is
adorned
with arabesques of a rather deeper tint. Medallions
glisten in the panels, and within them are birds,
painted by M. Appert. The prevailing colour of the
second saloon is a rosy white, the• arabesques are
rose-coloured. The tops of the doors the enclosures
or frames of the panelling, the medallions, contaip
natural flowers, sometimes on a white ground,
sometimes on a gilt one, executed with charmiog
freedom and freshness, by a young artist, wilefe
t
name gas slipped my memory. Then whichcomP
private saloon of the Empress, the ground of
is likewise of a very light green, and the panelling;
of which contain the po
ertraits of her ladies of
honour, painted by M. Dubuffe ; then her fife,'
withdrawing room, lined with green stuff, on Whi.
aro hung valuable pictures; the doors of this
Ibi
net and the next are of aramanth and palissander,
set off by bronzes, gilt, and admirably chased., The
,
new bronzes are of inimitable finish, and deoiae"
the locks, the arabesques of the chimney scroll!,
the marble slabs that issue from M. Chrtstotge
factory are capable of competing with the wo
moth
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the illustrious Gouttieres. The tesselated
ceilings, and chimneys, reveal a taste so pore and
refined that they reflect honour on M. Lefuel. is
,
The staircase leading to these appartments
entirely of stucco, and its accompanying balustraha:
looks like a fringe of iron and gold. Between
t• •
two spiral turns of the staircase a medallion contain,
a group of three child:en bearing the Nobs,attrib
the Empire, and sculptured by Madame ,
Constant. tap
" These private apartments, which have been
ready occupied by her Majesty the Empress S a ,
her return from Compiegne, are a work of art,
decidedly one of the masterpieces of decorative ar
in our age, owing to the delicate care that has bees
bestowed on every part of their arrangernerits•'
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