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| Andre le Notre |
This year marks the 400 anniversary of the birth of– André
le Nôtre- the landscape designer of a number of prestigious French gardens and
notably Versailles, Vaux le Vicomte, Chantilly, Fontainebleau and the Tuileries
just to name a few. In the 17th
century he revolutionized the art of landscaped gardens and was the master of
the French formal garden style ‘Jardin a la Francaise”. His legacy endures
today.
Born March 12, 1613, Andre Le Notre comes from a family of
gardeners—both his father and grand-father were in charge of the royal gardens
at the Tuileries Palace. As a
young man, he studied architecture and enrolled in the workshop of painter
Simon Vouet where he learned classical art and perspective. There he met his friend and future collaborator painter/decorator Charles Le Brun and
architect Francois Mansart.
In 1637, Le Notre took over the position of his father as
head gardener at the Tuileries which he redesigned and where he created the
expansive vista that became later the avenue des Champs Elysees.
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| Vaux le Vicomte- Photo Parc et Jardin |
Le Notre’s fortune and glory became solidly established when he
was hired by Louis XIV's finance minister, Nicholas Fouquet to design the garden
of his brand new castle at Vaux le Vicomte just southeast of Paris, near Melun. He
designed symmetrical borders framed in low boxwoods and yews, neat
gravel pathways lined with statues, expansive vistas, large basins with fountain works and grottoes The result was so magisterial,
that King Louis XIV upon his visit to Vaux le Vicomte got so envious that he
arrested Fouquet.
Subsequently,
Louis XIV undertook the renovation and expansion of his modest hutting lodge at
Versailles. For that he hired the
architect Le Vau, the decorator le Brun and the landscape designer Le Notre –all
three had worked together at Vaux le Vicomte.
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| Versailles- Photo Paris City Vision |
At Versailles Le Notre refined further his gardening concepts: symmetrical walks and side alleys that
lead to groves, parterres of greenery, large perspectives, clipped edges, artful topiaries, canals and fountains, classical statues, fanciful grottoes,
labyrinths and even fireworks. It
took 40 years for the work to be completed.
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| Domaine de Chantilly- Oise Tourisme |
In 1663, Andre Le Notre worked on the garden of another grand
Chateau at Chantilly commissioned by its owner the Grand Conde. Here, water reigns supreme. A large expanse of water is bordered by
symmetrical parterres. Of all the gardens designed by le Notre, Chantilly was
his favorite.
This year a program of celebrations of Le Notre's works will take place at Versailles, Vaux le Vicomte, Chantilly and the Louvre.
Versailles – Le Notre en Perspective – 22 october to February 24, 2014 .
This exhibit will paint for visitors an image of the multitalented man- designer, architect, planner,
painter, visionary…
In addtion, Versailles will feature the restoration of the
Latone Fountain and throughout the summer there will be fireworks celebrations in honor of Le Notre.
At Vaux le Vicomte, an exhibit on Le Notre will start April
12. There will be an audio visual display
explaining the different stages of the construction of the garden and directed walks through the gardens will explain the optical illusions and surprising perspectives of the
garden. Also architect Louis Benech will
design a new flower garden this spring taking his inspiration from Le Notre.
In the Tuileries from May 25-September 30, there will be exhibition
walks in the garden organized by the Louvre explaining the main elements of Le Notre's design.
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