What do you see on this picture? Well, there is a legend beneath telling us what exactly it is (Cascade de Saint Cloud) but for most of you the name of the place does not say very much.
What you see is a cascade in a beautiful park à la française with various characters dressed in 18th-century costumes frolicking and socializing around the basin at the foot of the cascade. The perspective is slightly asymmetric and probably deliberately so, so as to downplay the geometrical rigidity of the parc’s layout and to give it a sense of 3-dimensional spatial depth and spontaneity. In fact, this is a very deliberate and almost theatrical mis-en-scene of the Cascade de St Cloud by the author Jacques Rigaud designed to capture the viewer’s imagination and to induce their admiration.
There is something odd about this print. You would not be able to tell what it is unless you know more about this architectural marvel (which still exists), particularly its location. In fact, this view is presented almost strictly from the East looking West. Yet the shadows are seen to be cast from right to left. This is impossible in reality because that would mean that the sun was shining from the North, which we know is never the case, nor was it in the 18th century. So this is a sort of hoax on Rigaud’s part, which misleads the viewer making it impossible to say what part of the day it is. One can only wonder what the point of this deception is.
You can see the same cascade in the left-hand part of this earlier bird-eye view print of the park and chateau (no longer existing – see below) of Saint Cloud with the river Seine at the foreground (View of Saint Cloud). You can also see the chateau close up on other prints by Rigaud and Aveline (St. Cloud Court).
These prints are part of the latest additions to the selection of prints of Saint Cloud available for purchase on my website. There are quite a few other prints in my collection, mainly by Jacques Rigaud, that depict similar scenes in the parcs of Saint Cloud, Chantilly, Versailles and Marli, all around Paris. They share the same slightly dreamy fairy tale ambiance of a world frozen in time.
History of Saint Cloud
Saint Cloud is an important place in French history. Located just outside Paris (South-East), it was the site of an important royal chateau in which King Henri III was assassinated during the religious wars in the 16th century. Having fallen into the possession of the junior branch of the royal family, that of dukes of Orlean, in the 17th century, it briefly reverted to the King Louis XVI as his family’s summer residence during the Revolution (after he had been forced to relocate to Paris from Versailles in October 1789) and before his downfall and ultimate execution. After the Revolution, it was here that took place in 1799 the infamous coup d’état (18 Brumaire) of Napoleon Buonaparte overthrowing the Directoire regime and paving the way for his eventual takeover as Emperor of the French in 1804.
Unfortunately, the magnificent 17th century chateau did not survive until our time, having been destroyed by what now would be called “friendly fire” during the siege of Paris by the Prussians in 1870. A shell fired by the French towards the Prussians’ positions fell short of its intended target and caused fire in the chateau, which was subsequently razed to the ground. All that remains is a beautiful park, while a discussion has been going on for years whether to restore the chateau considering its cultural and historical importance.
An interesting exhibition was mounted nearby in 2020 dedicated to the glorious history of the place and possibly its future. Will it rise from ashes like la Fenice in Venice? Stay tuned for our updates.
