Essay on Gardens A Chapter in the French Picturesque Claude-Henri
Watelet. Edited and translated by Samuel Danon. Introduction by
Joseph Disponzio "Given the importance of Claude-Henri Watelet's
"Essai sur les jardins" (12774) to the history of garden design in
France, it seems remarkable that it has only recently been
translated into English. . . . This is a translation one can trust
and a model for future work; as such, its value cannot be
overestimated. . . . This edition of the "Essai" includes an
informative introduction by Joseph Disponzio, an authority on
French landscape architecture."--"Studies in the History of Gardens
and Designed Landscapes" Published in 1774, Essay on Gardens is one
of the earliest texts showing the progressive shift in French taste
from the classical model of the gardens at Versailles to the
picturesque or natural style of garden design in the late
eighteenth century. In this formulation of his ideas concerning
landscape, Claude-Henri Watelet describes an ideal farm and also
his own very real garden, Moulin Joli, near Paris. He advances the
theory that the useful and the pleasurable must be combined in the
planning, preservation, and decoration of the land by offering a
relatively novel design that uses experimental methods to create a
comfortable estate. The result is a horticultural and ecological
laboratory that includes a residence, a farm, stables, a dairy, an
apiary, a mill, walks, vistas, flower beds, an area reserved for
medicinal plants, decorative statues, a medical laboratory, and
even a small infirmary for ailing members of the community. Given
the wide scholarly interest in the field of garden design and its
history, this first English edition of Watelet's small but
influential book will interest historians of landscape design as
well as students of the history of architecture. Joseph Disponzio's
informative introduction to Samuel Danon's masterful translation
situates the "Essay on Gardens" within the framework of other
landscape and garden treatises of the late eighteenth century.
Although the original text was not illustrated, this edition
includes a selection of charming drawings and etchings of Moulin
Joli by Watelet himself, Hubert Robert, and others. Claude-Henri
Watelet (1718-86) was a French painter, poet, playwright, and
theoretician. Samuel Danon is Professor Emeritus of French, Reed
College. Joseph Disponzio teaches at Bryn Mawr College. Penn
Studies in Landscape Architecture 2003 104 pages 5 1/8 x 8 1/2 12
illus. ISBN 978-0-8122-3722-1 Cloth $45.00s 29.50 ISBN
978-0-8122-0413-1 Ebook $45.00s 29.50 World Rights Fine Arts Short
copy: Published in 1774, "Essay on Gardens" is one of the earliest
texts showing the progressive shift in French taste from the
classical model of the gardens at Versailles to the picturesque or
natural style of garden design in the late eighteenth century.
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