Principles of the French Garden in the Czech Garden Design
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ACTA UNIVERSITATIS AGRICULTURAE ET SILVICULTURAE MENDELIANAE BRUNENSIS Volume 66 117 Number 5, 2018 PRINCIPLES OF THE FRENCH GARDEN IN THE CZECH GARDEN DESIGN Anna Magni1 1Department of Garden and Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Horticulture, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic To cite this article: MAGNI ANNA. 2018. Principles of the French Garden in the Czech Garden Design. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, 66(5): 1171 – 1181. To link to this article: https: / / doi.org / 10.11118 / actaun201866051171 Abstract The French garden of the 17th and 18th century as the ultimate artistic expression of ideas about the world order and the representation of power and knowledge was not limited to its country of origin – its influence spread and appeared all over Europe. The following text focuses on its reflection in the territory of the Czech Republic and follows the ways the main principles of this form of garden design took. Besides the traditionally dominant artistic influence of Italy, the French art was reflected only gradually, and above all, indirectly. Activities of Le Nôtre’s disciples have been proven, but without any more detailed documentation. Moravia was most influenced by Vienna, where the imperial and other aristocratic gardens adopted more ornate, smaller and flatter concept of French forms, rather approaching Rococo. The paper shows, using specific examples and the comparative method, what forms typical of the French garden appear in the gardens of the Czech lands the most frequently. The characteristic organization of the garden and wider spaces by axes, avenues, radial divisions, water mirrors and canals as well as magnificent water elements with sculptures and also widely applied flat parterres with ornamental flower beds is explored. On the other hand, the complexity of the French prototype, which lies in the spatial monumentality and sophisticated use of optical rules and rules of perspective, is missing. Keywords: French garden, Czech garden design, Baroque, Classicism, Le Nôtre INTRODUCTION culture and spread in different variations and later While the theory of art and history of culture combinations beyond the boundaries of their distinguish individual artistic styles, it is more origins. So instead of the Baroque or classical garden, appropriate in some cases that the history of garden it is more accurate to specify whether the garden design distinguishes various development stages follows the Italian or French design, or whether it of a garden based on its affiliation to the main changed in the course of its development under geographical patterns, the main currents, which the influence of the English landscape garden1. Out appeared in the history of European garden of the three mentioned main European prototypes2 1 The same classification is used in e.g. Z. Wirth (1911), influences of the Italian and French Garden are consistently distinguished by Z. Dokoupil et al. (1957). 2 By prototype prof. Jiří Damec means garden design of a specific period and territory formed into a fixed shape with typical features. In the European context, the prototypes are the Italian garden (corresponding to the period of the Renaissance), the French garden (the style classification is described further in the text), and the youngest English landscape garden. 1171 1172 Anna Magni reflected in garden design, i.e., the Italian garden, stepped over the boundaries of the garden space (in the French garden and the English landscape Italy still sharply defined and divided into squares), garden, the following review focuses on the middle and linked it with the surrounding landscape. of them: As in other periods, the French Baroque3 Although he did not publish any theory, the great garden, at its climax in the second half of the 17th wave of the French garden fashion propagated century represented especially by the work already during his life. Aristocrats, artists and of André Le Nôtre (1613 – 1700), was based on craftsmen brought their personal experience from a number of sources: in its early days it absorbed their grand tours over France. Le Nôtre’s work the Italian designs from the arriving Italians and it became well‑known also thanks to engravings got inspiration from the (often overlooked) Dutch depicting his creations and as postcards travelling garden (Wirth, 1911; Bouchenot‑Déchin, 2013), across Europe. After his death in 1700, his work especially with its flat ornamentation and use of was diffused by Dezallier d’Argenville’s text water in the form of enclosing and intersecting complemented with engravings by Jean‑Baptiste canals. It took the geometric connection of Alexandre Le Blond4, which were present in the house and the garden from Italy, retained many rulers’ and nobles’ libraries throughout the Greco‑Roman pantheon as inspiration for Europe. The text and the illustrations present the sculptures, applied the geometric floral the ideal garden composition and its fundamental compositions and the spectacular water features. components. Together with the old plans of Le However, the concept of space changed under Nôtre’s gardens, he provides a perfect idea about Le Nôtre’s hands in France: the garden and its the French garden prototype. main axis were extended, the perspective was The following text explores how the prototype of used in a sophisticated manner, and the terrain the French garden was reflected in the Czech lands, was modified so that the views went to infinity. how its echoes came there, whether it was applied The vastness was mirrored in static water canals in its complexity and dazzling magnificence, and pool surfaces. In this spirit, Le Nôtre, certainly or rather, partial elements and details were under the influence of the painter’s education he incorporated. The first reflections of the French obtained from the landscape painter Simon Vouet, garden in the Czech territory from the end of I: List of studied sources (old books and archive documents) mentioned in the article Name of the garden / Date Author Source Name of the document La théorie et pratique 1709 Dezallier D‘Argenville gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France, p. 43 du jardinage (...) Jaroměřice Castle collection Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou. 1732 Nicolaus Millich and Rokytnou Sign. JR05822 Royal Garden, Praha 1704 DOKOUPIL, Z. et al. 1957. N. 16 Cahiers des jardins anglo‑chinois Český Krumlov 1796 Jean Louis Le Rouge DOKOUPIL, Z. et al. 1957. N. 71 Trója About 1740 Exposition at the Troja Palace 2nd half of Červený dvůr DOKOUPIL, Z. et al. 1957. N. 72 18th century KREJČIŘÍK, P. 2015. Development and interpretation of castle garden in Lednice. [Online]. Available at: http://web2.mendelu.cz/zf_563_krarch/1.3.1_MAPY‑ Lednice 1789 Karl Rudzinsky k‑metodice‑Architektonicko‑historicky‑pruzkum‑ pamatek‑zahradniho‑umeni_Lednice/1_MAPY_Vyvoj‑ zameckeho‑parku‑v‑Lednici. Dobříš By 1770 Karel Saltzer WIRTH, Z. 1938. P. 67 Slavkov u Brna 1732 Wenzel Petruzzi Brno city archive, archive n. 26. V3. sign. A 260, n. 42 / 2 Private collection of Jiří Dohnal, Holešov 1750 photo: Barbora Havelková MZA Brno, Collection of Maps and Plans, Paper Lužánky, Brno 1812 Directory File II / 1, File Number 1357 3 Professional and popular literature use more terms, which all indicate the same thing. The French literature uses the term Baroque garden for the garden of the 17th century (e.g. Baridon 2002), but we can encounter terms like the French garden, the Baroque garden, the Baroque‑classical or neo‑classical garden. 4 La théorie et pratique du jardinage published for the first time in 1709. 5 Available online at the French National Library (Source gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France). 6 Also online, see footnote 5. Principles of the French Garden in the Czech Garden Design 1173 the 17th century will be searched for and their of this world. To meet these objectives, some development until the beginning of a new style, customers – aristocrats ordered garden designs the period when the first landscape gardens were directly from Le Nôtre’s disciples. One of them, established, will be followed. the Frenchman Jean Trehet (1654 – 1740), was It focuses on gardens at palaces, castles and engaged by the Imperial Court in Vienna, became chateaus and the stages in their development that are the imperial garden engineer and was in charge of documented, regardless of the extent to which they the design of the garden at the imperial residence have been preserved, as a whole or in elements, until Schönbrunn (from 1695). Soon after that, this garden the present day. The text and the illustrations present designer worked in Moravia. He designed the palace the ideal garden composition and its fundamental garden with water canals for the Questenberk family components. Together with the old plans of Le in the cultural heart of Baroque Moravia, Jaroměřice Nôtre’s gardens, he provides a perfect idea about nad Rokytnou. In the overall composition, shown in the French garden prototype. The aim is not to name the ideal view of the palace and garden from 1732 all of the examples of the French principles applied (see Fig. 1), Le Nôtre’s principle is found in the main in the territory; rather, to highlight the examples axis supported by circular pools, lined with flat that are significant, exceptional or representative, broderie parterres, going into the landscape and either as a whole or in details. vanishing to infinity accompanied by avenues. The design uses water in a unique way; the water is brought by canals from the Rokytná River: the wide MATERIALS AND METHODS canal forms a water mirror on the transverse First of all, the sources for the following axis behind the longitudinal parterre in front text – professional Czech and French texts about of the palace facade, a water canal flows around building and architecture, sculptures, and garden a triangular island which serves as a natural theatre design of the Baroque and classicism are explored on the main axis.