The changing roles and tastes within French formal gardening in the 17th and 18th centuries
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August 8, 2021An analysis of the factors that best explain the growth and movement of population within the East Midlands region c.1801 and 1914
August 8, 2021The changing roles and tastes within French formal gardening in the 17th and 18th centuries
Example history dissertation topic 3:
The changing roles and tastes within French formal gardening in the 17th and 18th centuries
Jacques Boyceau de La Barauderie wrote in 1638 in his Traite du jardinage selon les raisons de la nature et d’art that ‘the principal reason for the existence of a garden is the aesthetic pleasure which it gives to the spectator’. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries French gardens evolved. The gardens of the elites were not only to be somewhere formal to stroll but also to be a form of living architecture as well as an outdoor setting for the pursuit of enjoyment and happiness. They would be a place of theatre and were also used to signify political change as for instance in the establishment of ‘the little farm’ at Versailles. This dissertation looks at the changing expectations of the elites of France during this period with regard to what they expected of their gardens.
Suggested initial topic reading:
- Allain, Y.M. and Christiany, J. (2006) L’art des jardins en Europe. Paris: Citadelles et Mazenod.
- Wenzler, C. (2003) Architecture du jardin. Paris: Editions Ouest-France.
