The Palace of Versailles

The Palace of Versailles was built under the rule of Louis XIV, built through his desire to establish a new center for the Royal Court, while also building something that was as magnificent, extravagant and powerful as his current reign over France. Louis was a man who believed in the Divine Right of Kings. He believed that each king was chosen and crowned by God, and in return accountable to him alone. It was under Louis’s rule that France became the most powerful. 

(King Louis XIV)

In 1661, Louis witnessed another garden that he believed to be more grand than his own. In response, Louis came to the obvious conclusion that he needed to have the most grand and magnificent garden in Europe...as a result: the construction of the Palace and Gardens of Versailles began.

It was in his palace that Louis saw a positive future for his ruling. By moving all of the nobility to a beautiful chateau about 15km outside of Paris, Louis hoped to keep close control over the government of his time, without any schism coming from the nobility. He hoped that if he built a large compound for them to live and be contained in, he would avoid any rebellion that could potentially overturn his current ruling. Government offices, homes, and events were all among the palace. By keeping everyone close inside this glorious compound of 700 rooms and 2,153 windows, Louis’s Palace of Versailles can be called somewhat of a “Golden Cage”.

(The Palace of Versaille)

The gardens were built to a massive scale, almost 250 acres large. As was the chateau itself, the gardens were built to mimic and celebrate the fact that France was the most powerful country in Europe. The garden held many works of art and architecture, such as the Bassin d’Appollon. This beautiful fountain was built in a celebration to Apollo, whom brought magic to Le Notre’s vision when constructing the gardens.

(Bassin d'Apollon with palace in the background)

Besides being a "Golden Cage", and a celebration of France’s power, the palace and the gardens were also meant to symbolize Louis XIV’s tremendous wealth. Not only was he able to conduct the construction of an absolutely elaborate and beautiful compound, but he was also able to maintain it throughout his rule, something that was very costly and could have been pulled of by many at this time. In his garden he had an Orangerie, with the capacity for more than 3,000 trees, and he was able to have them replanted with the coming of each new growing season. Another aspect of his gardens were the intricate Baroque style patterns that covered the gardens. He was able to keep his Baroque garden perfectly uniformed, with beautifully cut bushes that looked like embroidery on the ground. 

All in all, with 6 different components, or sections, of the garden, and a fountain running through the center almost 2 km long, the Gardens of Versailles, and the Palace itself, were an extremely impressive and extravagant feat for this time.

Based on what we have learned about garden art, if you had to create a garden incorporating any combination of features or styles that we have examined in class, what would your garden look like and why?

If I were to design my own garden based on what we have learned, I would blend two main styles and concepts..a medieval whimiscal herber mixed with the purposes of the Reanissance garden.

I would start with the idea of a herber as my layout, as relatively small, enchanting, and some what enclosed garden. However I would not have it confined by walls bur rather bushes and vines and trellises. I would design it with the thought that it would be similar to the idea of the Renaissance secret garden, in that it would be small (but in this case not so small) and enclosed. with an emphasis on the concept of it being a garden meant connect with nature and to contemplate life. Meanwhile also using this space to cultivate a wide variety of different plant life. Just like in the Renaissance secret garden, I would tactfully intertwine art and nature, but in a less systematic and symmetrical way than what was once emphasized in these Renaissance gardens. I would put more of an emphasis on a whimsical atmosphere, with no real order to the garden. Contrastingly, this "Renaissance herber" would not be enclosed within a larger garden like how many of the Renaissance secret gardens were, it would be the main garden. It would reside closely connected to my home, as if the doors on the back and side of my home were to open up into garden, if not then led to it by a short path.

I wold actively follow the concept of the herber, filling the garden with sweet-smelling herbs and flowers of every kind. The most important aspect of my garden would be an emphasis on flowers, a feature that is emphasized in the herber, but not as prominently in many of the other gardens that have been examined. In between the innumerable flower beds and herb patches, I would have paths of differently cut stones, with mossy or flowy grass growing wherever a bed or path is not present. In another area of the garden, I would have a vegetable garden, similar to that of the monastic monks practical vegetable gardens. Here I would bring order to my garden, and grow beds of vegetables lining this area of the garden. Like the medieval orchard, but not as manicured and aligned in straight rows, I would like to grow a few nut and fruit trees popping up here and there throughout the garden, offering scent, shade, a beautiful blossom when in season, and of course: wonderful produce. In addition, a couple of other fruits would be grown, such as berries and cherries. 

Now for the design and features, I would love to fill my garden with beautiful vines, and I would allow this to happen using pergolas, arbours, and trellises. The garden entrance would be, as mentioned, near the door of my home, but would welcome visitors with a beautiful arbour entrance, with trellises filled with vines on either side. Once walking under the arbour, your feet would immediately find their way onto a stone lined path. On either said of the paths and on the other side of the trellises inside the garden, would be turf seats looking out into the garden. These seats would be identical to those of the herber, flowering and lovely. The path from the entrance would be a spider web of a route, leading you to all difference areas of the garden. Through the flowers, around the trees, towards the vegetable garden, and around the berries. 

There would no main axis, and in no way would the garden be symmetrical. No water features would be present. This garden would be bringing in the ideal of the smelly flower and herb filled space of the herber, blended with the peaceful idea of the Renaissance garden as a space to come and think and ponder current life, all the while also making the space practical by growing vegetables, fruits, and herbs for cultivation.

Some pergola, trellis, and entrance inspiration...

Some lighting inspiration…

The Italian Renaissance & The Garden

Through the emergence of the Italian Renaissance, Italy and many other parts of Europe were reborn into a beautiful new way of living and seeing life. It was the intellectual movement known as humanism, brought about by Francesco Petrarch at the end of the 14th century, that fueled these new ideals, and resurrected in many parts of Europe an entirely new way to view many things among man, nature, the world, and god. This cultural movement of the Renaissance, initiated by the Italians, profoundly affected European intellectual life through a reevaluation of mans relationship with God & nature, and a rediscovery of classical texts and philosophies. This period of life slowly flourished into being about putting order to, and the inter-relationship between, God, man, & nature.

(Francesco Petrarch)

"The confidence in human reason, which is a lasting legacy if the Renaissance, profoundly changed humanity's view of nature." This quote by Elizabeth Rogers, in her book on Landscape Designs, sums up how important of an aspect nature was to the Renaissance. Gardens-- offering a large connection to nature-- were profoundly intertwined with these new ideas and actions. This new realistic and humanistic way of thinking was now heavily expressed in the design and content of the garden. The liberation of science and the spirit of open-ended inquiry found expressive analogue in garden design (Rogers). The inwardly focused and self-contained gardens of the Medieval Age were no longer, as these new outwardly, humanistic, expressive and worldly gardens hit the scene. This new representation of nature was not inspired by a doctrinal religion, but by the human intellect alone.

It was the resurrection of axial planning and symmetry that lead the Renaissance garden towards a more spatial setting that extended its boundaries beyond closed walls. The idea of villas were reestablished and incorporated into the lifestyle of the people during the Renaissance, most usually the wealthy. They built these villas as a place to retreat to, similar to the Romans, but with the idea that it was also a place to cultivate the intellect, and then less important- the land.

(Italian Renaissance Garden)

Another aspect of the Renaissance was the reemergence of the classical forms and practices of antiquity. This style was imitated by artists as they now used it as inspiration in sculpture and decoration. With this new interest in antiquity emulated through art, an interest in the classical deities was reborn. The idea of Gods and Goddesses re-flourished, providing gardeners with an antique imagery that helped in styling these new spaces. Sculptures of these deities were often placed in the gardens arranged in "tableaux"(a group of models or motionless figures representing a scene from a story or from history) cultivating the garden in an ordered way. Besides the presence of sculpture in the garden, water was also another important element. As Rogers says in her book-- "Sculpture and water were used as elements in increasingly elaborate iconographic programs that celebrated the fruitful partnership humanity had achieved with nature through art and technology".

(Giusti Gardens, Verona)

Using the garden as a story book, and as a blank slate to be written on, people with this new humanistic education used gardens as a place to practice the intellectual lifestyle, and demonstrate aesthetic and intellectual values.

Italy, being the forefront of these humanistic ideals and movements, reached an especially productive time in the beginning of the sixteenth century, with the development of a well established Renaissance lifestyle. They developed the Italian Baroque style gardens, the idea of "secret garden" (a small enclosed space amongst the larger garden, where an intimate connection with nature could occur), and again- the reemergence of the Italian Villa. 

(Reanissance Style Italian Baroque Garden-Chateau Villandry)

The idea of villas being mounted upon higher elevations with a view of the surrounding countryside, became especially prominent and popular during the time of the Italian Renaissance. The Villa Medici at Fiesole, situated on a hillside over looking Florence, was one of the first gardens since ancient times to take advantage of it's scenery. Inevitably so, "scenic perspective" quickly became a large consideration when constructing these gardens, where location, orientation, structure and design became especially important in Italian Gardens. 

(Villa Medici at Fiesole)

Gardens & Religion

Through the study of three different cultures-- Roman, Medieval, and Muslim-- three different approaches to religion are examined, and as a result three different garden forms are implemented and used. While some hold more emphasis and have greater ties towards religion than others, each culture and time period finds their own way to create a garden in which to have a separate space set aside for devotion, spirituality and symbolism, whatever it may be.

With the Romans, hierarchy was as much of an importance to society as religion was an importance to their culture. Both were brought together to simultaneously become an important aspect of the Roman Empire. With a less spiritual connection to a single specific god-like force, the Romans did not have one central belief. More focus was placed on mankind, on the power of a variety of individuals such as gods and spirits, and on the certain divine characteristics that these individuals held in relation to Earth and to their hierarchal society. As a very civilized and advanced society, the Romans focused much of their energy towards appreciating art, beauty, and form instead of one particular ideology. During a time where science, philosophy, sports, literature, architecture, theater, and entertainment were becoming more and more progressive, the Romans thought it very important to indulge in the idea of otium (withdrawing from daily business to engage in relaxing or enlightening activities, a term used in the post above). Through this idea, gardens flourished in the way that they were seen as a wonderful place for activity and religious expression. In many ways, it was though the beauty of their surroundings that the Romans felt connected to religion. Involving the ideas of conspicuous consumption, relaxation, showing off wealth, otium, and religious expression, the gardens in Rome were used for a variety of reasons. With the implementation of all of these ideas, the Roman gardens developed and flourished, with religious expression as an important practice.

With the development of the Roman peristyle garden, symbols and religious meanings were placed throughout the space. These formal gardens, while very peaceful and tranquil, were also very formal with much symmetry and geometry, and were well manicured and very intricate. Both in plants and in form, the gardens were generally very sophisticated. The quincunx form of the gardens, with a central axis and bisecting axis, created axial symmetry that was in some ways a Sacro-Relgious symbol of the cross. Other Sacro-Relogious garden features were aediculas, or small shrines that were used for religious devotion. Also used for religious purposes was the statuary that was often placed throughout gardens in a symmetrical style. Statues replicating figures in which Romans felt religiously connected too were sculpted and placed in gardens.

(House of Vetti, Pompeii)

After the Roman empire collapsed, Europe slowly shifted onto an entirely different wavelength of society. This time it now was a centralized form of religion that was the one unifying idea that was spreading during this period. It soon came to be that it was the religious institutions that had the most money and power. The art followed Roman traditions, in that the religious art of this new time period inherited both a Romanesque and Gothic style, where architecture, reliquaries, music, painting, and illuminated manuscript were prominent forms of art. From this time period the Medieval Society was born. While still holding true the idea of the hierarchal society that was prominent during the Roman Empire, the Medieval Society differed in that instead of an emperor or king being at the top with the most power, it was now the church that was now at the top, separate from all other beings and institutions. Inside the church was another hierarchal system, in which the pope was at the top with the most power, followed by the bishop, and then the local priests at the "bottom". From this society grew an entirely new idea of gardens, with moral beauty being one of the most valued concepts.

Instead of the classic Roman peristyle gardens set within the confines of the home, Medieval gardens flourished into a place for practical productive growth of horticulture, or as a place for leisure and recreation. Some of the largest gardens with the most variety and growth were the gardens of the churches. Here these gardens were meant for both production and withdrawal, being both practical and utilitarian. Involving these two different concepts, the monastic gardens of the church were comprised of both cultivation and a place for religious devotion. Vegetable gardens lined the garden, along with smelly herbs and other productive plants. For leisure and devotion, the cloister became an important aspect of the gardens. Here these little spaces were meant for religious purposes, filled with Virgin Mary and plant symbolism, such as the Madonna Lily. Here, peoples of the monastery or church could come to relax and think about God, putting aside time from their day to use the space and the time to pray and devote themselves to the various elements of their religion.

(Classic medieval herb garden, gardened by monks)

Soon the muslim culture of Islam was born, and their use of gardens were especially symbolic and special. With a special focus on pattern, geometry, and intricacy, these gardens are deeply spiritual and symbolic. In Islamic gardens the essential element was water. With an important emphasis on symmetry, muslim gardeners used water canals to divide the garden into 4 quadrants. In these gardens, but also in the Islamic tradition as a whole, everything tied back to the Qur'an in terms of moral direction and divine guidance. The arts were integrated into everyday life, and the ideas of "beauty without arrogance" and "inner richness vs. humble appearance" was emphasized. The Garden as an art form served a purpose, and that was to symbolize and represent an Earthly paradise or afterlife. The Islamic gardens are filled with symbolic religious meanings, and all of them stem from the Qur'an, in which "jannah-al-firdaws" or 'gardens of paradise' is mentioned over 120 times. The bisecting cross axis of water canals represents the '4 rivers of life', and the 4 garden beds created from the water canals create a 'chahar bagh' style garden in which 4 different gardens or flower beds are created, something typical for an Islamic garden. Out of the central water source (something that could be symbolic of the giver of life, a fruitful area where all life springs from, because all life starts from a particular source? Potentially to have displays of both life and afterlife in the gardens?). Influencing these gardens and the culture were 3 forms form which all gardens held some aspect of: arabesque-- decorations based on linear rhythmic patterns scattered and intertwined; geometry-- levels of detail, generally showcasing patterns of 8; and calligraphy.

(Mughal Garden crafted in Islamic Style)