The 2010 ASHS Annual Conference
3782:
More Than Just Green Architecture: An Investigation Into the Flowering of the Gardens of Louis XIV
3782:
More Than Just Green Architecture: An Investigation Into the Flowering of the Gardens of Louis XIV
Monday, August 2, 2010
Springs F & G
ABSTRACT
The legendary gardens of Versailles under King Louis XIV, 17th century King of France, are best known for their emphasis on strictly ordered and geometric nature. Most notable are the tightly controlled hedges, allées, and intricately- patterned parterres, creating finite formal geometries, or ‘green architecture’. Although King Louis favored rigid formality and design in his gardens, he also had a more private, but nonetheless avid, passion for horticulture and flower collecting. This paper investigates Louis’s enthusiasm for horticulture and flowers and why it is relatively unknown today. The far more public, main gardens of Versailles were designed, at Louis’s bidding, to project the grandeur of the kingdom. However, underneath this broadly publicized image, King Louis had a more personal enthusiasm for horticulture. He was a leader in the popular curieux flueriste, or curious florist, movement, which focused on the collection and cultivation of the rarest and most exotic flowers. For both men and women, this collection and cultivation demonstrated one’s taste, distinction, and wealth. For the King, this hobby also displayed his power and control, here, over nature. King Louis ordered the Grand Trianon to be richly decorated with some of the finest flowers to assist in the portrayal of his powerful god-like image as the Sun King, and as the harbinger of the Second Golden Age with its eternal springtime. He also dispatched his own curious florists to collect rare flowers for him, and richly rewarded their acquisitions, which were subsequently displayed in his Trianon gardens at Versailles and at Marly. However, the most rare and exotic of these plants were sent to Louis’s private gardens, for the sole viewing pleasure of the king and his mistresses. Unbeknown to most, Louis’s great gardens had been more than just tightly controlled ‘green architecture’. In the private areas of his royal gardens, Louis had created a floral paradise driven by ego, seduction, and prophecy.
The legendary gardens of Versailles under King Louis XIV, 17th century King of France, are best known for their emphasis on strictly ordered and geometric nature. Most notable are the tightly controlled hedges, allées, and intricately- patterned parterres, creating finite formal geometries, or ‘green architecture’. Although King Louis favored rigid formality and design in his gardens, he also had a more private, but nonetheless avid, passion for horticulture and flower collecting. This paper investigates Louis’s enthusiasm for horticulture and flowers and why it is relatively unknown today. The far more public, main gardens of Versailles were designed, at Louis’s bidding, to project the grandeur of the kingdom. However, underneath this broadly publicized image, King Louis had a more personal enthusiasm for horticulture. He was a leader in the popular curieux flueriste, or curious florist, movement, which focused on the collection and cultivation of the rarest and most exotic flowers. For both men and women, this collection and cultivation demonstrated one’s taste, distinction, and wealth. For the King, this hobby also displayed his power and control, here, over nature. King Louis ordered the Grand Trianon to be richly decorated with some of the finest flowers to assist in the portrayal of his powerful god-like image as the Sun King, and as the harbinger of the Second Golden Age with its eternal springtime. He also dispatched his own curious florists to collect rare flowers for him, and richly rewarded their acquisitions, which were subsequently displayed in his Trianon gardens at Versailles and at Marly. However, the most rare and exotic of these plants were sent to Louis’s private gardens, for the sole viewing pleasure of the king and his mistresses. Unbeknown to most, Louis’s great gardens had been more than just tightly controlled ‘green architecture’. In the private areas of his royal gardens, Louis had created a floral paradise driven by ego, seduction, and prophecy.