Enfilade

Marie Antoinette’s Silver Boudoir at the Château de Fontainebleau, 1786.

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The exhibition opens next month:

Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI at Fontainebleau: Splendor and the Goodlife

Marie-Antoinette et Louis XVI à Fontainebleau: Splendeur et douceur de vivre

Château de Fontainebleau, 11 October 2026 — 27 January 2027

Curated by Jean Vittet

In autumn 2026, the Château de Fontainebleau will host a major exhibition dedicated to Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, commemorating the 240th anniversary of their last stay at this royal residence. Organised in partnership with GrandPalaisRmn, the exhibition invites visitors to rediscover one of the royal couple’s favourite retreats through a captivating journey exploring history, art, and the intimacy of court life. Between 1774 and 1786, Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI stayed at Fontainebleau on seven occasions. Marked by both political and family events, these visits reflect the royal couple’s deep attachment to the château, which served both as a setting for royal ceremony and as a peaceful retreat from the bustle of Versailles.

The remarkably well-preserved interiors—including the Turkish Boudoir, the Silver Boudoir, the Queen’s Grand Cabinet, the King’s Powder Cabinet, the Buffet Room, and the Chapel of the Trinity—capture a defining moment of the reign. Created under the direction of architects Richard Mique, Nicolas-Marie Potain, and Pierre Rousseau, they offer a rare insight into the royal art of living on the eve of the French Revolution.

Bringing together more than 120 works of art—including portraits, drawings, sculptures and decorative objects—the exhibition features exceptional loans from around twenty prestigious French and international institutions, including the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre Museum, the National Library of France and the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon. Together, these works offer a vivid picture of the royal couple’s daily life at Fontainebleau, their artistic tastes, and the pleasures of court life, with theatre and music occupying a central place in their social world.

The result of extensive research, this exhibition sheds new light on the role played by the last sovereigns of the Ancien Régime at Fontainebleau, moving beyond the fixed images shaped by history. It reveals an atmosphere of refinement, serenity and intimacy, where splendour coexists with a certain art of living.

A complementary programme, including a selection of films inspired by Marie Antoinette, will be presented at the Ermitage Cinema in Fontainebleau from 10 to 17 October. The programme will also include the Queen’s Concerts, held as part of Thomas Hengelbrock’s residency at the Château de Fontainebleau on 9, 10, and 11 October.

Curator
Jean Vittet, Chief Curator of Heritage at the Château de Fontainebleau