The development in the course of the 18th century of the "picturesque" landscape seemed to the experienced viewer either composed after a painting or designed to be the subject of one. In such landscapes natural features were exploited or rearranged, and might be enriched by classical, Chinese or otherwise exotic ornamental structures. The two key players were England and France. John Dixon Hunt further samples the picturesque garden's diffusion in Scandinavia, Russia, the German-speaking lands and Italy up to the 1840s.
1. What, how and when was the picturesque garden? The aesthetic,
literary and historical origins of the idea of the 'picturesque' -
2. Early
English picturesque Garden designs and theories of Kent, Walpole and
gentleman amateurs like Shenstone; famous gardens including Painshill,
Stourhead, Hestercombe; love of the exotic (Chinese, etc) -
3. The
picturesque climax: theory and practice Famous later 18th-century gardens and
designer theorists, including Gilpin, Payne Knight, Uvedale Price, Repton -
4. Translating from the English France's indebtedness to England, and its
independent theories of the picturesque -
5. French picturesque in practice
Distinctively French contributions (Ermenonville, Monceau, Mereville) -
6.
Beyond Anglomania Scandinavia, German-speaking territories, Poland and
Russia, Italy
John Dixon Hunt is Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, and editor of Studies in the History of Gardens and Designed Landscapes. He is the author of numerous books on garden history and theory, including Greater Perfections: The Practice of Garden Theory, also published by Thames & Hudson. He was recently made a member of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Cultural Ministry of France for his exceptional contribution to landscape architecture.
