Jean-Marie Morel
Encyclopedia
Jean-Marie Morel the author of La Théorie des Jardins (Paris 1776), was a trained architect and surveyor, who produced a substantial and popular work advocating the "natural" landscape style of gardening in France, a French landscape garden
. Morel never visited England, to see the English garden
style, but his book profited from the published theories of Thomas Whately
and Claude-Henri Watelet
and from the experience he had gained from his close association with the marquis de Girardin
at Ermenonville
. Girondin's own De la Composition des paysages appeared in 1777.
and the first woman of fashion to open her salon
to foreigners, as the first French gardener in a landscape style that genuinely could be called "Brownian", that is, reflective of the style of Lancelot "Capability" Brown. On her return from England in 1765, she immediately grassed over her gardens, both at the Hôtel Saint-Simon in the Temple
, Paris and then at the house at Auteuil
, which she acquired in 1773. The results— "begotten by her on an English gardener" Horace Walpole remarked— which were a revelation to all Paris, must have been deeply impressive to the Conti architect, Morel.
, Couternon, Ermenonville, Casson, Launay and La Malmaison
. His popular treatise offers extensive descriptions of Guiscard and Ermenonville, as illustrative examples. Where we have documentation, as at Ermenonville, it appears that Morel claims more credit for its design than is due. Of all French gardeners of the picturesque school, he stood furthest from the fashionable and decorative anglo-chinois aspects of garden design, with its crowded and petty effects, and advocated a broader, plainer style, both morally meaningful and more directly imitative of nature. Morel coined the French term for the landscape professional, architecte-paysagiste, as early as 1804; his ideas were far more influential on the later landscape style of the early nineteenth century than on his immediate contemporaries.
French landscape garden
The French landscape garden is a style of garden inspired by idealized Italian landscapes and the romantic paintings of Hubert Robert, Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin, European ideas about Chinese gardens, and the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau...
. Morel never visited England, to see the English garden
English garden
The English garden, also called English landscape park , is a style of Landscape garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical Garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The...
style, but his book profited from the published theories of Thomas Whately
Thomas Whately
Thomas Whately , an English politician and writer, was a Member of Parliament , who served as Commissioner on the Board of Trade, as Secretary to the Treasury under Lord Grenville, and as Under- secretary of State under Lord North . As an M.P...
and Claude-Henri Watelet
Claude-Henri Watelet
Claude-Henri Watelet was a rich French fermier-général who was an amateur painter, a well-respected etcher, a writer on the arts and a connoisseur of gardens. Watelet's inherited privilege of farming taxes in the Orléanais left him free to pursue his avocations, art and literature and gardens...
and from the experience he had gained from his close association with the marquis de Girardin
René Louis de Girardin
René Louis de Girardin , Marquis of Vauvray, was Jean-Jacques Rousseau's last pupil. He created the first French landscape garden at Ermenonville. It was inspired by Rousseau's ideas...
at Ermenonville
Ermenonville
Ermenonville is a small village in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.Ermenonville is notable for its park named for Jean-Jacques Rousseau by René Louis de Girardin...
. Girondin's own De la Composition des paysages appeared in 1777.
History
Morel was chief architect to the Princes of Conti from as early as 1765. John Harris has identified Mme de Boufflers, the mistress and hostess of Louis-François de Bourbon, prince de Conti (1717-76), the friend and support of RousseauJean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
and the first woman of fashion to open her salon
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
to foreigners, as the first French gardener in a landscape style that genuinely could be called "Brownian", that is, reflective of the style of Lancelot "Capability" Brown. On her return from England in 1765, she immediately grassed over her gardens, both at the Hôtel Saint-Simon in the Temple
Temple (Paris)
The Temple was a medieval fortress in Paris, located in what is now the IIIe arrondissement. It was built by the Knights Templar from the 12th century, as their European headquarters. In the 13th century it replaced earlier works of the Vieille Temple in Le Marais...
, Paris and then at the house at Auteuil
Auteuil
Auteuil may refer to:* Auteuil-Neuilly-Passy, an area of Paris* Auteuil, Quebec, a borough of Laval, Quebec, CanadaAuteuil is the name of several communes in France:* Auteuil, Oise* Auteuil, YvelinesAuteuil is also a surname:...
, which she acquired in 1773. The results— "begotten by her on an English gardener" Horace Walpole remarked— which were a revelation to all Paris, must have been deeply impressive to the Conti architect, Morel.
Ermenonville
Morel was the architect in charge at Ermenonville from the mid 1760s He enjoyed a long career that was focused almost entirely on garden design. He worked on some four dozen parks and gardens, including Guiscard, ArcelotChâteau d'Arcelot
Château d'Arcelot is a château in Côte-d'Or, France. It was completed in 1765....
, Couternon, Ermenonville, Casson, Launay and La Malmaison
Château de Malmaison
The Château de Malmaison is a country house in the city of Rueil-Malmaison about 12 km from Paris.It was formerly the residence of Joséphine de Beauharnais, and with the Tuileries, was from 1800 to 1802 the headquarters of the French government.-History:Joséphine de Beauharnais bought the...
. His popular treatise offers extensive descriptions of Guiscard and Ermenonville, as illustrative examples. Where we have documentation, as at Ermenonville, it appears that Morel claims more credit for its design than is due. Of all French gardeners of the picturesque school, he stood furthest from the fashionable and decorative anglo-chinois aspects of garden design, with its crowded and petty effects, and advocated a broader, plainer style, both morally meaningful and more directly imitative of nature. Morel coined the French term for the landscape professional, architecte-paysagiste, as early as 1804; his ideas were far more influential on the later landscape style of the early nineteenth century than on his immediate contemporaries.
See also
- French landscape gardenFrench landscape gardenThe French landscape garden is a style of garden inspired by idealized Italian landscapes and the romantic paintings of Hubert Robert, Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin, European ideas about Chinese gardens, and the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau...
- Landscape gardens index
- Landscape design history