À propos de ce projet / About This Project
Saisir Marie-Antoinette à travers son almanachLes almanachs sont associés aux calendriers, aux prévisions de météorologie, aux cycles lunaires, aux marées, ou encore aux statistiques d’une activité sportive ou à un hobby. En effet, l’étymologie du mot « almanach » provient de l’arabe, « manach » qui signifie « compter ». Néanmoins, dans Le Trésor des Grâces, un almanach publié en 1779 à Paris, et qui porte en couverture les armes de Marie -Antoinette, la plus célèbre des reines françaises, le désintérêt pour tout ce qui se compte est frappant dès une première lecture. En parcourant les pages de l’almanach l’on s’aperçoit de l’absence de toute information pratique, que ce soit des pronostics agricoles ou du temps qu’il fera, à l’exception du calendrier situé à la fin du volume et aux pages consacrées à la tabulation des gains et pertes aux jeux de cartes et de hasard.
Quoique les centres d’intérêt reflétés dans l’almanach de la reine différencient Marie-Antoinette et son milieu social de ceux de la majorité des sujets français de l’Ancien Régime, Le Trésor des Grâces, contient de nombreuses révélations sur les pratiques culturelles de l’élite féminine parisienne du XVIIIe siècle. L’almanach met en avant les goûts de la reine, incontestablement opulents, mais qui ont trop souvent été jugés comme simplement frivoles. Plutôt que de prendre pour acquis que le penchant de Marie-Antoinette pour des coiffures compliquées et ornées—les « poufs à la circonstance » ou les « poufs aux sentiments »--ne signalent que les excès matérialistes d’une princesse, les auteurs de ce projet proposent des lectures attentives des références faites par les coiffures. Une exploration poussée des onze « poufs » verticaux trouvés dans Le Trésor des grâces expose la profonde implication de la reine dans la culture théâtrale de son époque et sa commémoration, par le style de ses cheveux, des grands moments historiques de son siècle.
Dans cette exposition Scalar, les étudiantes de Wellesley College qui faisaient partie du cours du professeur Bilis, French 303, « Long Live the Queen !: Women in Power Under the Ancien Régime », proposent des lectures détaillées de toutes les coiffures dans l’ almanach de la reine. Chaque entrée décrit ce que les lecteurs du Trésor devraient noter en regardant les gravures colorées, et offre une analyse du « pouf » en question, avec des notes bibliographiques et des liens supplémentaires à la clé pour continuer la recherche.
Les auteurs de ce projet souhaitent chaleureusement remercier Ruth R. Rogers, conservatrice de la collection des Livres Rares à Wellesley. C’est elle qui eut l’idée d’acheter l’almanach ; elle en a aussi supervisé la numérisation et a incité à la conceptualisation de ce projet. La recherche des étudiantes a bénéficié du soutien et des efforts admirables de la bibliothécaire Laura O Brien. Jenifer Bartle, manager des projets numériques à Wellesley College, a travaillé sans relâche afin de préparer la présentation des descriptions pour un visionnement public et elle a mis en place l’exposition sur Scalar. L’initiative de Wellesley College Blended Learning a généreusement soutenu ce projet.
Nous remercions particulièrement Lia Gelin Poorvu dont l'achat de l'almanach a rendu ce projet possible.
Si vous avez des questions ou commentaires au sujet du projet, les adresser au Prof. Hélène Bilis: hbilis@wellesley.edu
Understanding Marie-Antoinette Through her Almanac
We tend to associate almanacs with calendars, long-range weather predictions, moon cycles, tide tables, or with a list of statistics of a given sport or hobby. Indeed, etymologically the word “almanac” is thought to come from the Arabic, manach, which means “to count.” Yet, in Le Trésor des Grâces, an almanac published in 1779 Paris that bears on its cover the coat of arms of France’s most famous queen, Marie-Antoinette, the disregard for counting everyday matters of concern is clear from a first skim. A more thorough reading reveals a complete lack of practical information, be it meteorological and agricultural prognostications or other metrics, except for a small calendar at the end and a section devoted to tabulating wins and losses at the card table.
While the interests reflected in the queen’s almanac certainly differentiate Marie-Antoinette and her social milieu from those of the majority of French subjects living under the Ancien Régime, Le Trésor des Grâces has much to reveal regarding the cultural and sociological practices of elite Parisian women of the eighteenth-century. The almanac brings into focus the queen’s tastes, which are unquestionably opulent, but have too often been derided as merely frivolous. Rather than assume that Marie-Antoinette’s penchant for intricate and lavish coiffes—the “pouf à la circonstance” or “pouf aux sentiments”—signals a shallow contribution to fashion, the authors of this project have sought to track down what the hairstyles reference. A careful exploration of the eleven vertical “poufs” in Le Trésor exposes the queen’s participation in the theatrical trends of the eighteenth century and her commemoration, through the styling of her hair, of historical events of the day.
In this Scalar exhibit, Wellesley College students who were part of Prof. Hélène Bilis’ French 303 course, “Long Live the Queen: Women in Power Under the Ancien Régime” present detailed readings of every hairstyle found in the queen’s almanac. Each entry describes what Le Trésor’s readers should note in viewing the colorful prints and offers a carefully researched explanation of the given “pouf,” including footnotes and additional links for continued investigations.
The authors of this project wish to warmly thank the following people for their essential contributions: Ruth R. Rogers, Curator of Wellesley College Special Collections, acquired the almanac, oversaw its digitization, and first had the idea of creating this exhibit. The students’ research was accomplished under the superb guidance of Laura O’Brien, Wellesley instruction librarian; and Jenifer Bartle, manager for digital projects at Wellesley College, who tirelessly prepared the descriptions for public display and skillfully curated the exhibit on the Scalar site. The Wellesley College Blended Learning Initiative generously supported this project.
Special thanks to Lia Gelin Poorvu, Wellesley College Class of '56, whose generosity made the acquisition of this almanac possible.
For questions and comments about the project, please contact Prof. Hélène Bilis: hbilis@wellesley.edu
We tend to associate almanacs with calendars, long-range weather predictions, moon cycles, tide tables, or with a list of statistics of a given sport or hobby. Indeed, etymologically the word “almanac” is thought to come from the Arabic, manach, which means “to count.” Yet, in Le Trésor des Grâces, an almanac published in 1779 Paris that bears on its cover the coat of arms of France’s most famous queen, Marie-Antoinette, the disregard for counting everyday matters of concern is clear from a first skim. A more thorough reading reveals a complete lack of practical information, be it meteorological and agricultural prognostications or other metrics, except for a small calendar at the end and a section devoted to tabulating wins and losses at the card table.
While the interests reflected in the queen’s almanac certainly differentiate Marie-Antoinette and her social milieu from those of the majority of French subjects living under the Ancien Régime, Le Trésor des Grâces has much to reveal regarding the cultural and sociological practices of elite Parisian women of the eighteenth-century. The almanac brings into focus the queen’s tastes, which are unquestionably opulent, but have too often been derided as merely frivolous. Rather than assume that Marie-Antoinette’s penchant for intricate and lavish coiffes—the “pouf à la circonstance” or “pouf aux sentiments”—signals a shallow contribution to fashion, the authors of this project have sought to track down what the hairstyles reference. A careful exploration of the eleven vertical “poufs” in Le Trésor exposes the queen’s participation in the theatrical trends of the eighteenth century and her commemoration, through the styling of her hair, of historical events of the day.
In this Scalar exhibit, Wellesley College students who were part of Prof. Hélène Bilis’ French 303 course, “Long Live the Queen: Women in Power Under the Ancien Régime” present detailed readings of every hairstyle found in the queen’s almanac. Each entry describes what Le Trésor’s readers should note in viewing the colorful prints and offers a carefully researched explanation of the given “pouf,” including footnotes and additional links for continued investigations.
The authors of this project wish to warmly thank the following people for their essential contributions: Ruth R. Rogers, Curator of Wellesley College Special Collections, acquired the almanac, oversaw its digitization, and first had the idea of creating this exhibit. The students’ research was accomplished under the superb guidance of Laura O’Brien, Wellesley instruction librarian; and Jenifer Bartle, manager for digital projects at Wellesley College, who tirelessly prepared the descriptions for public display and skillfully curated the exhibit on the Scalar site. The Wellesley College Blended Learning Initiative generously supported this project.
Special thanks to Lia Gelin Poorvu, Wellesley College Class of '56, whose generosity made the acquisition of this almanac possible.
For questions and comments about the project, please contact Prof. Hélène Bilis: hbilis@wellesley.edu
