Per Astra Ad Astra

Histoires De Carres > Printemps-Ete 2009

The carre Per astra ad astra - "Through the stars to the stars" - has been drawn from the epic by Jean-Francois de Galaup, Count de La Perouse. Ordered by the King in 1785 to oversee a scientific and commercial expedition, his frigates, Astrolabe and Boussole, were both shipwrecked in the archipelago of Santa Cruz in Oceania. The carre portrays a compass dial with ribbons and floral garlands, such as depicted in the 18th Century. Surrounding the portrais of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette are French Officers trading with the locals, while botanists study the nature... Oh so many scenes inspireds by the log book, a part of which was brought back to Versailles.