John Dixon Hunt
Encyclopedia
John Dixon Hunt is an English-born landscape historian. His work particularly focuses on the time between the turn of the seventeenth through the end of the 18th centuries in France
and England
. Professor Hunt began his academic career teaching English literature. He is the author of innumerable articles [not only in landscape journals but also Apollo, Lincoln Center Theatre Review, and Comparative Criticism], and chapters on topics including T. S. Eliot
and modern painting, Utopia in and as garden, and garden as commemoration. He has written numerous books which include The Pre-Raphaelite Imagination: 1848-1900 (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1968), his Critical Commentary on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” (Macmillan 1968), studies of Marvell
, Ruskin
, and William Kent
, his classic Garden and Grove: The Italian Renaissance Garden in the English Imagination: 1600-1750 (J. M. Dent, 1986), Greater Perfections (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999), Picturesque Garden in Europe (Thames & Hudson, 2002), and the most recent The Afterlife of Gardens (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004). (Gardens Guide)
endeavors in landscape architecture.
, Vassar College
, Exeter
, York
, Leiden, East Anglia
, Bedford College, London and then Dumbarton Oaks
where he was the Director of Studies in Landscape Architecture. His route to the study of landscapes began with his research into the 18th-century of Alexander Pope
and a trip to Stowe
, where he toured the grounds for several days with the history master of the boys' school there. Hunt has founded two prestigious academic journals: Word & Image (since 1985), which focuses on the relationship between the visual and the verbal, and Studies in the History of Gardens and Other Designed Landscapes (1981, originally Journal of Garden History). He has also held a number of fellowships ranging including a tenure at the American Academy in Rome and has advised on Venetian garden restoration and botanical garden interpretive programs. (University of Pennsylvania)
He became a professor at the University of Pennsylvania
in 1994 and served as the department chair of landscape architecture and regional planning until June 2000. In June he went on sabbatical to pursue his interests in landscape architectural theory. When he returned Dean Gary Hack left for his sabbatical therefore leaving his position as Dean temporarily available and John Dixon Hunt was named to fill the position for a semester. John Dixon Hunt is a member of the Graduate Groups in Ph.D. architecture, historic preservation, history of art, comparative literature and Center for Italian Studies Committee. (University of Pennsylvania)
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Professor Hunt began his academic career teaching English literature. He is the author of innumerable articles [not only in landscape journals but also Apollo, Lincoln Center Theatre Review, and Comparative Criticism], and chapters on topics including T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
and modern painting, Utopia in and as garden, and garden as commemoration. He has written numerous books which include The Pre-Raphaelite Imagination: 1848-1900 (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1968), his Critical Commentary on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” (Macmillan 1968), studies of Marvell
Marvell
-People:* Andrew Marvell, 17th-century English metaphysical poet* Marvell Wynne , American soccer player* Marvell Wynne , American baseball player-Businesses:* Marvell Technology Group, U.S. semiconductor company...
, Ruskin
Ruskin
- Surname :*John Ruskin , an English author, poet and artist, most famous for his work as art critic and social critic, and for his writing on the architecture of Venice....
, and William Kent
William Kent
William Kent , born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, was an eminent English architect, landscape architect and furniture designer of the early 18th century.He was baptised as William Cant.-Education:...
, his classic Garden and Grove: The Italian Renaissance Garden in the English Imagination: 1600-1750 (J. M. Dent, 1986), Greater Perfections (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999), Picturesque Garden in Europe (Thames & Hudson, 2002), and the most recent The Afterlife of Gardens (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004). (Gardens Guide)
Early life
In his youth he walked extensively in the mountains of the English Lake District and in Switzerland, and spent time with his maternal grandfather, Frank Dixon, a school headmaster and entomologist. His parents moved to Bristol from his native Gloucester so that he could attend Bristol Grammar School. Hunt's father Sydney led a company of amateur actors, and Hunt envisioned a career on the stage for a period of time. He won a scholarship to King's College, Cambridge, and studied English literature, completing an B.A. and M.A. there, followed by a Ph.D. at Bristol University.Education
- Bristol Grammar SchoolBristol Grammar SchoolBristol Grammar School is a co-educational independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England. The school was founded in 1532 by two brothers, Robert and Nicholas Thorne....
- He earned his B.A.Bachelor of ArtsA Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and M.A. at King's College, CambridgeKing's College, CambridgeKing's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
. - In 1964 he earned a Ph.D.Ph.D.A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of BristolUniversity of BristolThe University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
(UK). - In May 2000 he was named Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture for his exceptional
endeavors in landscape architecture.
- In 2006 he was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by the University of Bristol (UK).
Career
He began his career with teaching positions in English literature with emphasis on its relationships with the visual arts at the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
, Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
, York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, Leiden, East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, Bedford College, London and then Dumbarton Oaks
Dumbarton Oaks
Dumbarton Oaks is the conventional name for the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, situated on a historic property in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The institution is administered by the Trustees for Harvard University. Its founders, Robert Woods Bliss and his wife...
where he was the Director of Studies in Landscape Architecture. His route to the study of landscapes began with his research into the 18th-century of Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
and a trip to Stowe
Stowe
-Places:in Canada:*Stowe, Albertain Dominica:*Stowe, Dominicain the United Kingdom:*Stowe, Buckinghamshire**the location of Stowe House, Stowe Landscape Garden and Stowe School** former location of the Stowe Missal*Stowe, Herefordshire*Stowe, Lincolnshire...
, where he toured the grounds for several days with the history master of the boys' school there. Hunt has founded two prestigious academic journals: Word & Image (since 1985), which focuses on the relationship between the visual and the verbal, and Studies in the History of Gardens and Other Designed Landscapes (1981, originally Journal of Garden History). He has also held a number of fellowships ranging including a tenure at the American Academy in Rome and has advised on Venetian garden restoration and botanical garden interpretive programs. (University of Pennsylvania)
He became a professor at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in 1994 and served as the department chair of landscape architecture and regional planning until June 2000. In June he went on sabbatical to pursue his interests in landscape architectural theory. When he returned Dean Gary Hack left for his sabbatical therefore leaving his position as Dean temporarily available and John Dixon Hunt was named to fill the position for a semester. John Dixon Hunt is a member of the Graduate Groups in Ph.D. architecture, historic preservation, history of art, comparative literature and Center for Italian Studies Committee. (University of Pennsylvania)
Examples of his writings and thoughts
- Hunt Defines landscape architecture as exterior place-making and sees the garden as having a 'privileged position' within landscape architecture because gardens 'are concentrated or perfected forms of place-making.'(Greater Perfection)
- "The use of the term 'picturesque' today is generally limp, gesturing at best towards something visually attractive, perhaps old, quaint or scenic."(The Picturesque Garden in Europe)
- "Picturesque is the story that concerns the application of painterly art to the formation of gardens and landscapes; but understanding, presentation and augmentation of 'nature' in designed landscapes, and about their reception by all sorts of visitors, topics just as important in the annals of landscape architecture as a debt to painting."(The Picturesque Garden in Europe)
Books
- The Pre-Raphaelite Imagination: 1848-1900 (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1968)
- His Critical Commentary on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” (Macmillan 1968)
- The Figure in the Landscape: Poetry, Painting, and Gardening during the Eighteenth Century, Baltimore and London:The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976
- Andrew Marvell: His life and writings, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1978
- Garden and Grove: The Italian Renaissance Garden in the English Imagination 1600-1750, London and Melbourne:J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd, 1986
- William Kent, Landscape garden designer: An Assessment and Catalogue of his Designs, London:A. Zwemmer Ltd, 1987
- The Pastoral Landscape, Hanover, New Haven and London: National Gallery of Art, 1992.
- Gardens and the Picturesque: studies in the history of landscape architecture, Massachusetts:MIT Press, 1992.
- Greater Perfections: The Practice of Garden Theory, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000.
- The Picturesque Garden in Europe, London: Thames and Hudson, 2002.
- The Afterlife of Gardens, London: Reaktion Books, 2004.
- Plus many more...
Edited Books
- John Dixon Hunt (editor), Garden history: issues, approaches, methods, Washington: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1989.
- John Dixon Hunt (editor), The Italian Garden, Cambridge, New York and Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
- John Dixon Hunt and Peter Willis (editors), The Genius of the Place, London: Paul Elek, 1975.
- John Dixon Hunt and Michel Conan (editors), Tradition and Innovation in French Garden Art, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002.
Articles and Book Chapters
- 'Emblem and Expressionism in the Eighteenth-Century Landscape Garden', Eighteenth-Century Studies, 4, 3, 1971, pp. 294–317.
- 'Marvell, Nun Appleton and the Buen Retiro', Philological QuarterlyPhilological QuarterlyThe Philological Quarterly is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on medieval European and modern literature and culture. It was established in 1922 by Hardin Craig. The editor-in-chief is Alvin Snider....
, 59, 1980, pp. 374–8. - 'Pope's Twickenham Revisited', Eighteenth Century Life, 8, 2, 1983, pp. 26–35.
- 'Pope, Kent and 'Palladian' gardening', in G.S. Rousseau and Pat Rogers, The Enduring Legacy: Alexander Pope Tercentenary Essays, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988, pp. 121–132.
- 'Verbal versus Visual Meanings in Garden History: The Case of Rousham', in John Dixon Hunt, Garden History: Issues, Approaches and Methods, Washington: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1989, pp. 151–181.
- Ut Pictura Poesis': The Garden and the Picturesque in England (1710-1750)', in Monique Mosser and Georges Teyssot, The Architecture of Western Gardens: A Design History from the Renaissance to the Present Day, Cambridge, Massuchussettes: The MIT PRess, 1991, pp. 231–242.
- 'Experiencing gardens in the Hypnerotomachia Polifili', Word & Image, 14, 109-119, 1998.
See also
- PicturesquePicturesquePicturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
- Landscape ArchitectureLandscape architectureLandscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...
- History of gardeningHistory of gardeningThe history of ornamental gardening may be considered as aesthetic expressions of beauty through art and nature, a display of taste or style in civilized life, an expression of an individual's or culture's philosophy, and sometimes as a display of private status or national pride—in private...
- Reception theoryReception theoryReception theory is a version of reader response literary theory that emphasizes the reader's reception of a literary text. It is more generally called audience reception in the analysis of communications models. In literary studies, reception theory originated from the work of Hans-Robert Jauss in...