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Origin and history

Madame's musical pavilion, also called the Countess de Provence's musical pavilion, was built in 1784 by architect Jean-François Chalgrin for Marie-Josephine de Savoie, wife of Monsieur (future Louis XVIII), brother of Louis XVI. Located in Versailles in a 12 hectare estate in English, it served as a refuge away from the bustle of the Court. This domain, known as the Grand Montreuil, included several factories, including the Madame Pavilion, which is now part of Sainte-Geneviève High School.

During the Revolution, the estate was seized as a national property and sold in 1794, resulting in the destruction of most factories. The music pavilion, spared, was acquired by the Mellerio family, which had it enlarged in 1820 by architect Jean-Jacques-Marie Huvé. In the 19th century he passed into several hands, including those of Alfred Chauchard, founder of the Louvre department stores, who donated it in 1902 to a real estate company. The park was divided into 105 parcels to reward its employees, however, preserving the pavilion in the centre of the new Chauchard district.

In 1960 Jacques and Lydie Bazaine acquired the pavilion and undertook its restoration. Today, it belongs to their grandson. The monument is distinguished by its circular music salon, decorated with a dome and decorated with trompe-l'oeil frescoes evoking an English garden, as well as an octagonal salon with stucco decorations imitating Wedgwood porcelain. Ranked a historic monument in 1943, it reflects the artistic refinement of the Old Regime and the urban transformations of the 19th century.

The pavilion illustrates the enthusiasm of elites for garden factories, these picturesque buildings designed to enhance the parks. Its neoclassical architecture, due to Chalgrin, prefigures the Empire style, while its interior decorations reflect the influence of the russeauist movement, celebrating nature. Krafft's engraving perpetuated the image before its transformation in the 19th century.

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