SPRING SUMMER
20
3 rd EDITION
16—17
C U LT U R E PAG E 0 6
T R AV E L PAG E 10
RECIPES PAG E 16
H E A LT H PAG E 18
STYLE PAG E 20
EXPLORE PAG E 25
After Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun Queen Marie-Antoinette 1783 . Oil on canvas. On loan from the Palace of Versailles Photo © Château de Versailles, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Gérard Blot.
D I S C OV E R
THE POWER & THE GLORY In a diplomatic coup engineered by Australian Ambassador to France Stephen Brady, Australia is the first country to showcase some of the most sumptuous objets d’art from the Palace of Versailles. ––– Words by Emma Macdonald
Versailles: Treasures from the Palace, running between December and April, is sure to be a major calendar event for Australian art lovers. Brady tipped off National Gallery of Australia Director Gerard Vaughan last year that the Palace was open to the idea of a temporary loan of some of its vast treasure trove. Australians travel in droves to Versailles each year and there was emerging support to see some of the most iconic pieces leave their home for the first time to please new antipodean audiences.
C A N BE R R A C OM E S A L I V E DU R I NG T H E WA R M E R MON T H S . M A K E T H E MOST OF I T W I T H OU R I NSI DE R GU I DE TO T H E EV E N T S NOT TO BE M I S SE D.
E X P LO R E T H E R E A L M P R E C I NC T I S SU R ROU N DE D BY A BU Z Z I NG C OL L E C T I V E OF R E STAU R A N T S , BA R S A N D SHOP S . W E SHOW YOU A ROU N D T H E N E IGH BOU R HOOD.
WEAR C A R A HO DE C ODE S “AT H L E I SU R E” – AT H L ET IC A PPA R E L F OR NON -AT H L ET IC SET T I NGS . YOU ' L L WA N T TO W E A R I T A L L .
REL A X W E R EV E A L T H E R E SORT- ST Y L E DAY SPA A N D F I T N E S S C E N T R E T H AT W I L L BR E A K N EW GROU N D I N C A N BE R R A .
T R AV E L T H E ‘C OOL E ST L I T T L E C A P I TA L’ I S J UST A T H R E E -HOU R F L IGH T F ROM C A N BE R R A . H E R E’ S YOU R E S SE N T I A L GU I DE TO 4 8 HOU R S I N W E L L I NGTON.
Almost immediately Vaughan and his deputy Adam Worrall were on a plane to France.
Incredibly, Brady’s tip came to pass and negotiations began in earnest for the logistical feat of bringing more than 130 significant pieces – some of them barely able to be squeezed into a freight plane – to the national capital. The exhibition includes paintings, intricate tapestries, gilded furniture, monumental statues and other objects from the Royal Gardens, as well as personal items from Louis XIV to Marie Antoinette. It brings to life the reigns of three kings, their queens and mistresses in a fascinating and tumultuous period of French history. ... C ON T I N U E D
ON
PAGE 6