From Reality to Ruins

Gardens in European art of the seventeenth and eighteenth century often held meaning that went deeper than the mere surface. In everyday life, gardens functioned as the heart of where social gatherings and activities were held. In response to them playing such an active role during this era, art depicting the everyday garden and the ideal garden was created. The underlying values and meaning are conveyed in a way that evokes an experience from the viewer of the garden depicted. During the seventeenth century, gardens in art were portrayed as having more geometric shapes than during the eighteenth century and gradually developed towards something more “natural.” During this time, a movement of artists developed that began incorporating Roman architecture into landscapes while still including pieces that imply a garden scene, such as a well tended potted plant. This gave their paintings a feeling of pre-romanticism and fantasy. The impression of grandeur that came along with exotic paintings came from the mental link people created between foreign items and the technological, scientific advancements that came along with them. The Bathing Pool by Hubert Robert displays how incorporating contrasting elements, such as a rugged, an architectural ruin resting on underdeveloped terrain and objects that create a tended to, cared for garden feel, give the painting a timeless, otherworldly feel. It’s characteristics like these that some of the garden paintings in Europe began to pick up and that transformed the ideal garden in European art. Many viewers aren’t aware of how gardens have changed and the link that these gardens have to the culture of their time. 

The Bathing Pool

Hubert Robert (French, Paris 1733–1808 Paris)

Medium: Oil on canvas

Accession Number: 17.190.29

The subtle details created through contrast and the composition in The Bathing Pool leave the viewer with feelings of curiosity and intrigue. The placement and angles of the trees lead the viewer’s eyes through the painting and draw them back in towards the temple-like architectural structure. There are two women swimming in the water and another next to a woman drying off on the steps who appears to be a maid of some sort. The statues on either side of the temple give the painting a feeling of symmetry. The area has a unique feel to it because it doesn’t appear to be taken care of. The trees are overgrown which leads to a neglected feeling. This is a sharp contrast to the flowers in the pots, which seem to be lovingly tended to. This indicates that it could be a private garden, yet the round structure itself has the appearance of being neglected and in ruins. The painting lends a feeling to pre-romanticism. 

Pastoral Landscape: The Roman Campagna

Claude Lorrain (Claude Gellée) 

(French, Chamagne 1604/5–1682 Rome)

Date: ca. 1639

Medium: Oil on canvas

Accession Number: 65.181.12

The intensity of the lighting in this painting gives it a mysterious atmosphere, despite it also evoking calm feelings. The cows in the foreground make the painting feel rural, while the architectural structure to the left gives it the feeling that it is closer to civilization than one would initially think. The blending of architecture into landscapes creates a calming atmosphere. It incorporates a career people at the time would have had in a way that involves more than just the herd and the man watching over them. It elevates the job, in that, it creates an environment that would be more enjoyable than people would have thought possible. It shows the ability art has to make things seem different than reality. 

View in a Park

Alexandre Hyacinthe Dunouy 

(French, Paris 1757–1841 Jouy-en-Josas)

Medium: Oil on paper, laid down on ledger paper

Accession Number: 2003.42.26

This serene landscape of a French park depicts a building and trees in the distance. This less formal park displays the development towards the more “natural” garden style park.  It is pulling away from the geometrical and working towards a less “man-made” and mathematically idealized feeling. It displays the concept of roaming space that is able to be used for. This development of the idea of a park is typically thought of as a public garden, for which anyone can use, except that this can be interpreted as a more private park. The building lends to the idea that the park is private because its appearance is small and doesn’t seem to be for crowds of the public. 

Landscape Capriccio with Tomb of the Horatii and Curiatii, and the Villa of Maecenas at Tivoli

Artist: Richard Wilson

Completion Date: 1754

Medium: Oil on Canvas

The National Museum of Western Art Collection Number: P.1998-0005

This portrayal of ruins in a landscape displays a pre-romantic side to eighteenth century painters. The nature gives a sense of peace while the ruins give a feeling that this is less a reality and more a fantasy. Wilson paints his initials on the tomb and the date as a way to make himself a part of his painting. Three men are shown in the foreground that appear to be enjoying themselves. This idea of enjoyment from the outdoors and being at peace with ruins all around plays with the romantic idea of the beauty of nature and the surreal experience that comes with it. This idea begins to be incorporated with the gardens as it becomes more prominent.

View in the Gardens of the Villa d'Este

Léon Pallière 

(French, Bordeaux 1787–1820 Bordeaux)

Date: ca. 1814–17

Medium: Oil on paper, laid down on canvas

Accession Number: 2003.42.44

This painting depicts a geometrically designed garden during the late 18th, early 19th century in France. The use of linear perspective emphasizes and makes believable the building structure and how it is involved with the border of the pond in the foreground. It depicts gardens that were constructed mathematically and incorporated architecture into the background. This idea of a garden was altered as the cultural ideas of the time changed and grew towards including Roman architecture style in the garden since it gave it a more grandeur feel. 

Falls of the Aniene at Tivoli

Charles Louis Clerisseau

Date: 1769

Medium: Gouache

Victoria and Albert Museum

The waterfalls surrounded by a city inspired by Roman ruins displays Clerisseau’s knowledge architecture and landscapes while he effectively incorporates them together into a painting. He includes ruins from his imagination and reality. The incorporation of a settlement in this painting makes it feel more like settlement than ruins. The three figures in the corner are interacting with the surrounding nature and almost coming off the picture plane towards the viewer, and in some ways forms a border around the painting. In some ways the architecture, being less detailed as Roman architecture is typically thought of, pulls away from the illusion that this could be a fantasy.