Temple de l'Amour, Neoclassical folly in Park of Versailles, France.
The Temple of Love is a small neoclassical rotunda of cream stone, built in 1777-1778 by architect Richard Mique on an island in the artificial river of the Petit Trianon's English garden. Twelve Corinthian columns with carved capitals and square plinths carry a circular entablature with a continuous band of relief carving, above which a shallow coffered dome holds rosettes in each square panel. At the centre, on a pedestal, stands Louis-Philippe Mouchy's white marble winged figure of Love cutting his bow from Hercules' club.
Richard Mique built the temple in 1777–1778 on the largest island of the artificial river in the English garden, at a cost of over 42,000 livres; the sculpted decoration is by Joseph Deschamps. It was inaugurated with a fete on 3 September 1778, and in August 1781 thousands of fascines were burned in the ditches for the visit of Joseph II so that the temple appeared as the brightest point of the garden. Restored in 2005, it is classified as a historical monument with the château de Versailles.
The temple's name comes from the white marble statue at its centre: Louis-Philippe Mouchy's replica of L'Amour se taillant un arc dans la massue d'Hercule. Its inauguration on 3 September 1778 was marked by a brilliant fête, and in August 1781 thousands of fascines were burned in the ditches for Joseph II's visit, making the temple appear as the garden's brightest point in a moonlight-like glow.
The temple stands on the larger of the two islands in the artificial river of the Jardin anglais, reached on foot from the Petit Trianon through the Domaine de Marie-Antoinette. The structure is open on all sides, with a low stepped base and no interior room, so a visit takes only minutes. It was restored in 2005.
Marie-Antoinette could see this temple directly from her bedroom window in the Petit Trianon, which is why it was positioned precisely at that location. This meant the pavilion was not just garden decoration but a daily visual companion for the queen herself.
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