Map of the Labyrinth of Versailles

The artwork

That line of dots winding through the hedges, from number 1 at the top right to 39 at the bottom left, is the path that passes by 39 fountains, each with an Aesop fable. You receive it printed on handmade Amalfi paper, with a handmade frame.

The labyrinth had been designed by André Le Nôtre; the idea of filling it with fables, to make it an open-air lesson for the Dauphin, was Charles Perrault's, the same one who wrote Cinderella. In each fountain, painted lead animals, based on designs by Charles Le Brun, recited the fable with jets of water from their mouths, and a plaque bore four verses by the court poet Isaac de Benserade. It is said that it was on those very plaques that the Dauphin learned to read. In his guide, Perrault reassured visitors: anyone who got lost inside got pleasantly lost. In 1775, during the major redesign of the gardens ordered by Louis XVI, the labyrinth was dismantled.

This plan, the "Plan du Labirinthe de Versailles", was published by Nicolas de Fer in his Atlas Curieux: at the bottom right, below the title, are his name and the date 1715, sixty years before the demolition. It is a bird's-eye view engraving, with the hedges and jets of water drawn one by one. At the top right, an inscription marks the entrance, "where the figures of Aesop and Prudence are"; at the bottom left, the exit. The reproduced copy is kept in the David Rumsey Map Collection.

For those who love gardens, it is a gift to gaze at for a long time; in a home where a child is learning to read, or hung in an entryway, it becomes a game for everyone. From 1 to 39, the dots serve as Ariadne's thread, one fable after another.

Material of unique quality

Print on handmade Amalfi paper
Sheet size: 29 x 42 cm
With frame: 31 x 44 cm
Material: artwork printed on the finest paper with handmade Amalfi deckle edges
Frame: dark brown with gold fillet, handmade, with glass