WK3: ENLIGHTENMENT II: THE PICTURESQUE AND THE SUBLIME

Key projects

Picturesque & Sublime

Definition / Context:

• Picturesque: Gardens or landscapes designed to look like paintings.

• Sublime: Architecture or scenery that inspires awe or wonder.

• Movement grew during the Enlightenment, with focus on emotion, nature, and imagination.

Key Terms:

• Follies: Decorative garden buildings.

• Genius Loci: Spirit of a place.

• Mnemonics: Memory aids in design.

• Arcadia: Idealized natural landscape.

• Chiaroscuro: Contrast of light and dark.

• Architecture parlante: Architecture that “speaks” its purpose.

• Ha-ha: Sunken fence for uninterrupted views.

Main Projects & Architects:

• Stowe Garden – William Kent, Capability Brown

• Stourhead – Henry Hoare

• Ermenonville Garden – René Louis de Girardin

• Désert de Retz – François Racine de Monville

• Hameau de la Reine – Richard Mique

• Dessau-Wörlitz Garden – Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff, Johann Friedrich Eyserbeck

• Arkadia Garden – Szymon Bogumił & Henruk Ittar

• Bibliothèque Nationale (unbuilt) – Étienne-Louis Boullée

• Cenotaph for Newton (unbuilt) – Étienne-Louis Boullée

Chiswick Garden, England, 1726–29
Architect: Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington; Landscape Architect: William Kent

• Location / Year: England, 1726–29

• Architect / Designer: Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington; Landscape Architect: William Kent

• Movement / Style: Picturesque Gardens

Three Points of Significance / Main Idea / Innovation:

• Designed the garden to look like a painting, introducing irregularity and naturalistic elements.

• Created water features and paths that fit the landscape, giving a sense of harmony and controlled randomness.

• Moves away from the strict symmetry of formal Baroque gardens.

Architect’s Thesis / Context:

• Gardens should evoke emotion and visual pleasure, like a living artwork.

• Follies act as narrative markers, guiding visitors through the landscape and creating symbolic or thematic points of interest (mini temples, roman arches, bridges, faux ruins, herms, urns).

Materials / Ornament: Stone, brick, sculptures, urns, bridges, faux ruins, grottos.

Context:

• Cultural: Inspired by paintings; aimed to create a “picturesque” experience.

• Societal: Reflects the Enlightenment interest in nature, art, and guided experience.

• Comparison: Unlike formal French Baroque gardens (like Versailles), Chiswick emphasizes irregularity, narrative, and visual delight.

Key Terms: Picturesque, Follies, Ha-ha, Narrative landscape.

Sketch Idea: Map showing winding paths, water features, and locations of follies.

Stowe Garden, England, begun c. 1712
Architect: Richard Temple; Landscape Architects: William Kent & Capability Brown

• Architect / Designer: Richard Temple; Landscape architects: William Kent & Capability Brown

• Movement / Style: Picturesque (Landscape Garden)

Three Points of Significance / Main Idea / Innovation:

• Designed to evoke natural beauty with controlled irregularity.

• Uses follies, temples, paths, water features, and ha-has to create a “picturesque” visual narrative.

• Moves away from formal Baroque symmetry; designed vistas guide the eye toward key features like temples, statues, and lakes.

Architect’s Thesis / Context:

• Reflects Enlightenment appreciation of nature, leisure, and moral engagement.

• Artificial ruins suggest history, emotion, and narrative within the landscape.

Materials / Ornament: Wood, stone temples, bridges, follies, water features, artificial ruins, ha-has

Context:

• Cultural / Societal: Aristocratic leisure culture; exposure to classical and picturesque aesthetics via the Grand Tour.

• Historical: 18th-century English landscape movement; inspired by classical painting and philosophy.

• Comparison: Rejects strict axes; focuses on storytelling and visual experience rather than formal order.

Key Terms: Picturesque, Follies, Genius Loci, Ha-ha, Mnemonics, Arcadia

Sketch / Diagram: Winding paths, water bodies, temples/follies as focal points.

Stourhead, England, 1744–46
Architect / Designer: Henry Hoare

• Architect / Designer: Henry Hoare

• Movement / Style: Picturesque (Landscape Garden)

Three Points of Significance / Main Idea / Innovation:

• Combines architecture, sculpture, and landscape into a cohesive, story-like journey.

• Uses perspective and viewing sequences to evoke emotion.

• Breaks from rigid symmetry of classical gardens; focuses on narrative and sensory experience.

Architect’s Thesis / Context:

• Inspired by Arcadian ideals; encourages reflection, imagination, and aesthetic appreciation of nature.

Materials / Ornament: Stone temples, follies, sculptures, water features, planted vistas

Context:

• Cultural / Societal: Enlightenment interest in moral and intellectual engagement with nature.

• Historical: Built as part of aristocratic leisure and aesthetic education.

• Comparison: More narrative-driven than Stowe; emphasizes emotional engagement over variety alone.

Key Terms: Picturesque, Arcadia, Mnemonics, Garden Follies, Chiaroscuro

Sketch / Diagram: Meandering paths connecting temples, statues, and lakes, with framed views.

Ermenonville Garden, France, 1762–78
Architect / Designer: René Louis de Girardin

• Architect / Designer: René Louis de Girardin

• Movement / Style: Picturesque (French Landscape Garden)

Three Points of Significance / Main Idea / Innovation:

• Garden integrates philosophical and literary ideas (Rousseau); naturalistic layout encourages reflection and moral contemplation.

• Temple of Philosophy placed on a hill to provide picturesque views; columns dedicated to influential people (e.g., Isaac Newton).

• Use of follies and half-finished structures symbolizes ongoing philosophical exploration; mnemonics techniques for remembering ideas.

Relation / Reaction: Rejects symmetry; designed as a series of picturesque scenes; inspired by ruins from Roman/Greek architecture.

Architect’s Thesis / Context: Enlightenment ideals of moral and philosophical engagement with nature; Temple of Philosophy left unfinished to symbolize incomplete human knowledge.

Materials / Ornament: Stone paths, bridges, artificial ruins, temples, planted vistas, Tuscan columns, mnemonics, half-finished stone structures

Context:

• Cultural / Societal: Intellectual French aristocracy; promotes contemplation and connection to landscape.

• Historical: Inspired by Grand Tour painters, Chinese gardens, and Rousseau’s philosophy.

• Comparison: Intellectual and philosophical approach contrasts with English gardens’ visual focus.

Key Terms: Picturesque, Sublime, Follies, Arcadia, Genius Loci, Mnemonics

Sketch / Diagram: Winding paths, Temple of Philosophy, tomb of Rousseau, irregular vistas.

Désert de Retz, France, 1777–82
Architect / Designer: François Racine de Monville

• Architect / Designer: François Racine de Monville

• Movement / Style: Picturesque (French Landscape Garden)

Three Points of Significance / Main Idea / Innovation:

• Garden filled with creative follies (e.g., Broken Column) that tell a story and give symbolic meaning.

• Follies from different times guide visitors mentally and emotionally.

• Irregular, natural-looking shapes replace symmetry; ruins, temples, and pavilions fit forest edges and water.

Relation / Reaction: Breaks from strict symmetry; garden works like a theatre, mixing plants, rare species, and playful structures.

Architect’s Thesis / Context: Designed to engage feelings and thoughts; private retreat for reflection.

Materials / Ornament: Stone, plaster, brick, water, trees; symbolic decorations; local stone, spiral staircases, rooftop lanterns in follies

Context: French Enlightenment; encourages imagination and reflection.

Comparison: More dramatic and symbolic than English gardens; stronger Romantic influence.

Key Terms: Picturesque, Follies, Mnemonics, Arcadia, Genius Loci

Sketch / Diagram: Scattered symbolic structures, winding paths.

Various Garden Folly Designs, France, 1757–1826
Architect / Designer: Jean-Jacques Lequeu

• Architect / Designer: Jean-Jacques Lequeu

• Movement / Style: Picturesque / Experimental Neoclassicism

Three Points of Significance / Main Idea / Innovation:

• Imaginative, eccentric garden follies; theatrical, symbolic, surreal.

• Examples: underground Gothic house, cowshed, cabin of “savages,” Green Temple of Ceres, Aurora Grove, fountain, little park cave.

Relation / Reaction: Pushes picturesque toward fantasy; breaks symmetry; follies playful and unexpected.

Architect’s Thesis / Context: Architecture as playful, symbolic, expressive; reflects late Enlightenment fascination with imagination.

Materials / Ornament: Stone, brick, timber; decorative and symbolic elements, sculptural forms

Context:

• Cultural / Societal: French Enlightenment interest in symbolism and personal expression.

• Historical: Pre-Revolutionary France; conceptual and emotive architecture.

• Comparison: More theatrical than Boullée’s sublime visions or De Girardin’s philosophical gardens.

Key Terms: Picturesque, Follies, Mnemonics, Arcadia, Genius Loci, Theatricality

Sketch / Diagram: Odd-shaped follies, symbolic structures, playful architectural forms scattered across the landscape.

Dessau-Wörlitz Garden, Germany, 1769–73
Architect / Designer: Duke Leopold III of Anhalt-Dessau; Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff & Johann Friedrich Eyserbeck

• Architect / Designer: Duke Leopold III; Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff & Johann Friedrich Eyserbeck

• Movement / Style: Picturesque / Landscape Garden

Three Points of Significance / Main Idea / Innovation:

• Integrated symbolic follies, temples, and classical structures into naturalistic landscapes.

• Breaks Baroque symmetry; uses irregularity and visual storytelling.

• Enlightenment ideals; moral and aesthetic education through landscape.

Materials / Ornament: Stone, wood, sculptural follies, bridges, water features

Context: German Enlightenment; philosophical and aesthetic focus.

Comparison: German approach blends French and English picturesque; more philosophical focus.

Key Terms: Picturesque, Follies, Genius Loci, Mnemonics

Sketch / Diagram: Paths connecting temples and follies across irregular terrain.

Arkadia Garden, Poland, from 1778
Architect / Designer: Princess Helene Radziwiłł; Szymon Bogumił & Henruk Ittar

• Architect / Designer: Princess Helene Radziwiłł; Szymon Bogumił & Henruk Ittar

• Movement / Style: Picturesque / Landscape Garden

Three Points of Significance / Main Idea / Innovation:

• Symbolic follies, temples, aqueducts, sanctuaries create narrative and intellectual landscape.

• Temple of Diana, Roman aqueduct, High Priest’s Sanctuary, Herma statues, Order of the Mopses area.

Relation / Reaction: Rejects symmetry; follies along winding paths; each introduces new idea.

Architect’s Thesis / Context: Gardens encourage contemplation, learning, enjoyment of symbolic and aesthetic features.

Materials / Ornament: Stone, brick, timber, water, planted features; iron ore for Herma statues

Context: Polish Enlightenment; intellectual and aesthetic engagement for aristocracy

Comparison: More narrative than English counterparts; combines symbolic, playful, classical references

Key Terms: Picturesque, Follies, Genius Loci, Mnemonics, Arcadia

Sketch / Diagram: Winding paths linking symbolic structures, temples, and sanctuaries.

Boullée – Cenotaph for Newton (unbuilt, 1784) / Bibliothèque Nationale (unbuilt, 1788), France
Architect / Designer: Étienne-Louis Boullée

• Architect / Designer: Étienne-Louis Boullée

• Movement / Style: Sublime / Visionary Neoclassicism

Three Points of Significance / Main Idea / Innovation:

• Monumental geometric forms inspire awe; “architecture parlante” communicates meaning.

• Sphere represents Newton/Earth; perforations create starry effect; central lamp represents sun at night.

• Chiaroscuro used to dramatize space; dark entryways heighten awe.

Relation / Reaction: Radical departure from practical rationalism; emphasis on emotional and cosmic experience.

Architect’s Thesis / Context: Architecture as conceptual, utopian expression; tribute to Newton; Enlightenment interest in science, reason, imagination.

Materials / Ornament: Conceptual; minimal ornament; monumental scale, pure forms.

Context: French Revolution period; visionary architecture as intellectual and social statement.

Comparison: Contrasts Ledoux’s functional rationalism; emphasizes emotional, cosmic, sublime experience.

Key Terms: Sublime, Architecture Parlante, Chiaroscuro, Visionary Architecture, Monumental Geometry

Sketch / Diagram: Massive geometric shapes, spheres, interiors lit to evoke cosmic awe; perforated sphere, central lamp, narrow entryways, dramatic light/shadow.