Chapter 4 : The meeting with Louis XV the giant and the child

When he arrived in Paris, he had two places prepared for him. The hotel near the Arsenal was a hotel with all the comforts. And something much more luxurious at the Louvre. It was the apartment of Anne d'Autriche which is now under the Galerie d'Apollon du Louvre. But he doesn't want to use the queen's great chamber. And he wants us to dress his camp bed in a simple wardrobe. So that too is a big surprise to the world. And then there, the stay in Paris is also marked by the meeting with Louis XV. So Louis XV, at that moment, 7 years old, is l'orphelin, It is the one on which all the hopes of France are. And he has the chance to have a figure, a size of extraordinary beauty. He seduces everyone, he's a seven-year-old child. And the star itself is seduced. He was surprised at first to have an affair with such a small child. He says to his wife, he writes to his wife That the little king is barely bigger than his son Lucky. He has a very pretty figure and he is very seductive. And in a moment, I would say almost paternal, He takes him in his arms and the student says to him I hope that we will have one day to be friends For the future of relations between France and Russia. There too, it hit the people of the court very hard. Because we don't touch the king. So, this moment of spontaneity was a huge surprise. He was a pupil who had the hope of becoming the king. It's interesting to see what the chronicles tell us of places visited by Pierre Legrand. It's first of all manufactures. The manufacture of goblins poured the tapestries. I want to see French lighters. who are going to St. Petersburg, The history painters who go to St. Petersburg. It's secondary to the manufacture du Faubourg Saint-Antoine pour les glaces. It is then the French cultural institutions that interest him. Le Jardin du Roi, where all the wise men are The Commission has already made a number of proposals. L'Observatoire, where we work on the question of longitudes, That is the great question of the 18th century. The journey to Paris in the spirit of Pierre Legrand A de multiple facets. Une facette artistique indéniable, the artistic side of the city. But there is also the man of state who is behind the esthetician. I saw the ice rooms, In St. Petersburg, Russia, the production of ice has begun. In the old Russian tradition, He wasn't allowed to look in the mirror. The Church did not allow me to look in the mirror. She considered it a sin. And Pierre destroyed the traditions And build the first palace of ice.