Le comte d'Angiviller : Acteur et témoin du règne de Louis XVI

This book is dedicated to the Comte d'Angiviller, a gentleman from La Manche who raised the future Louis XVI and his brothers. Upon his accession to the throne in 1774, Louis XVI appointed him Director of Buildings. Founder of the Louvre Museum, he orchestrated the work and built up the collections by acquiring major works. He was responsible for all the royal buildings and bought Rambouillet for the king. Angiviller presided over the fate of the Sèvres and Gobelins factories, and directed the Académie de peinture et de sculpture, as well as the Académie de France in Rome.

The revolutionary period made him a major eyewitness to the historical events in which he took part. The king asked him to emigrate to Spain. Unwaveringly loyal, he returned to help the king in danger, but his head was on the list of aristocrats to be beheaded. He left for Germany, from where he never returned.

Angiviller had a secretary, Narcisse, who copied all his correspondence with the king. He witnessed his life and emigrated with him. In his old age, Narcisse wrote his memoirs for the Marquise de Capellis, who lived at the Château de Saint-Rémy-en-l'Eau, Angiviller's birthplace. This unpublished manuscript is transcribed in full at the end of this book.