René Louis de Girardin
Encyclopedia
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. De Girardin was the author of (1777), which strongly influenced the style of the modern French landscape garden
.
Girardin was descended from the old Florentine
Gherardini family. In 1762 he inherited his title of Marquis of Vauvray and his mother's fortune (she was the daughter of René Hatte, the chief tax collector for Louis XV
). The inheritance included 300,000 and the 800 hectares (1,976.8 acre) estate of Ermenonville. His estates brought him an income of about 100,000 a year.
Girardin became an officer in Louis XV's army and served until the end of the Seven Years War. He then left the army and went to Lunéville, where he joined the Polish Court of Stanislas Leszczynski.
In 1761 he married Cécile Brigitte Adélaide Berthelot, daughter of the of Lorraine. They had four sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Cécile Stanislas-Xavier (born 1762), was the godson of King Stanislas and became an important political figure during the French Revolution and a member of the French National Assembly
from 1791 to 1792.
Girardin left the Polish court after the king's theater presented a play ridiculing Rousseau's ideas. He traveled for three years, visited Italy, Switzerland, Germany and England, where he saw Stowe. He didn't like Stowe much because he felt it contrary to nature in its collection of different styles. But Girardin greatly admired the English poet William Shenstone
's garden at The Leasowes
.
He brought one hundred workers from England and a Scottish gardener to help him with the work, and he himself made many drawings of the effects that he wanted. Hubert Robert
also came to Ermenonville and helped. Robert is described as the architect of Rousseau's cenotaph
and possibly also of the Temple of Philosophy. The garden was largely laid out by 1776.
. He visited Rousseau in Paris with his son, who played Rousseau's compositions on the spinet
while Rousseau sang.
In the wildest part of the park, called Le DesertA desert in the French Encyclopedia of the time referred to "a place propitious for cultivating dreams and nostalgia, Girardin started to build a house for Rousseau, modeled after the "Élysée" of Julie in Rousseau's novel La Nouvelle Héloïse. Rousseau visited the garden in May 1778 and was enchanted by the setting. He stayed in a small cottage with a thatched roof surrounded by rocks, a setting created by Girardin from Rousseau's novel. Rousseau was staying at the cottage until his death. Girardin made a tomb for Rousseau designed by Hubert Robert and sculpted by Jacques-Philippe Le Sueur
. The tomb and the garden became a destination of pilgrimage for admirers of Rousseau, including Joseph II of Austria, King Gustav III of Sweden
, the future Czar Paul I of Russia
, Benjamin Franklin
, Thomas Jefferson
, Danton
, Robespierre, Chateaubriand, Queen Marie Antoinette
and Napoleon Bonaparte.
When Rousseau died, he left behind at Ermenonville the manuscripts of his most important works, including Les Confessions and Les Rêveries du promeneur solitaire
. Girardin and two other friends of Rousseau prepared a complete edition of his works, which was published in Geneva between 1780 and 1782. The new edition contributed greatly to spreading Rousseau's ideas throughout France in the years leading up to the French Revolution
.
Girardin returned to France after the Revolution in 1789. He entered politics advocating Rousseau's ideas and wanted a representative assembly. He became a member of the party of Jacobins
in 1790.
The next year he published a pamphlet proposing the abolition of the Royal Army, and its replacement by a citizen's militia. And another pamphlet calling for all laws to be approved by the public. He was disillusioned by the massacre on the Champ de Mars
in Paris on July 17, 1791; he left politics and moved to his estate at Ermenonville.
In 1792 Girardin and his wife were put under house arrest, and their children imprisoned, until September 1794. Their chateau and gardens were pillaged, and Rousseau's ashes were moved from the garden of Ermenonville to the Panthéon, Paris
. Girardin, disillusioned by the behavior of the villagers of Ermenonville, retired to a house at Vernouillet, where he republished as in 1805, and created a small garden. He died in 1808.
"The composition of landscapes," he wrote, "can open the way to the renewal of the moral principles of the nation." He wrote in the last chapter, "...If you want to achieve true happiness, you must always seek the simplest means and the arrangements closest to those of nature, because only those are true and will have a long-lasting effect."
Girardin said that gardens should be composed of a series of scenes, like paintings. Each designed to be seen from a different point of view and at different times of day to achieve an emotional effect. Some scenes should evoke solitude, others the pleasures of bucolic life, others the ideals of harmony and innocence. These scenes would be discovered by following a winding path through the garden, with a series of different views coming as surprises. He combined his ideas of creating gardens with those of a new rural social organization, where peasants own their own land.
Jean-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...
's last pupil. He created the first French landscape garden
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...
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...
. It was inspired by Rousseau's ideas. De Girardin was the author of (1777), which strongly influenced the style of the modern French landscape garden
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...
.
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
Gherardini family. In 1762 he inherited his title of Marquis of Vauvray and his mother's fortune (she was the daughter of René Hatte, the chief tax collector for Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
). The inheritance included 300,000 and the 800 hectares (1,976.8 acre) estate of Ermenonville. His estates brought him an income of about 100,000 a year.
Girardin became an officer in Louis XV's army and served until the end of the Seven Years War. He then left the army and went to Lunéville, where he joined the Polish Court of Stanislas Leszczynski.
In 1761 he married Cécile Brigitte Adélaide Berthelot, daughter of the of Lorraine. They had four sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Cécile Stanislas-Xavier (born 1762), was the godson of King Stanislas and became an important political figure during the French Revolution and a member of the French National Assembly
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
from 1791 to 1792.
Girardin left the Polish court after the king's theater presented a play ridiculing Rousseau's ideas. He traveled for three years, visited Italy, Switzerland, Germany and England, where he saw Stowe. He didn't like Stowe much because he felt it contrary to nature in its collection of different styles. But Girardin greatly admired the English poet William Shenstone
William Shenstone
William Shenstone was an English poet and one of the earliest practitioners of landscape gardening through the development of his estate, The Leasowes.-Life:...
's garden at The Leasowes
The Leasowes
The Leasowes is a 57 hectare estate in Halesowen, historically in the county of Shropshire, England, comprising house and gardens....
.
Garden at Ermenonville
In 1762 he settled at Ermenonville and began to design a new garden to illustrate his philosophical and social ideas about the place of man in nature. The garden was laid out along a small river, the Nonette, where a series of ponds had been overgrown by nature. It was composed to show idealized nature, decorated with symbolic pieces of architecture, such as the Temple of Philosophy. It was left unfinished to show that the search for knowledge is never complete.He brought one hundred workers from England and a Scottish gardener to help him with the work, and he himself made many drawings of the effects that he wanted. Hubert Robert
Hubert Robert
Hubert Robert , French artist, was born in Paris.His father, Nicolas Robert, was in the service of François-Joseph de Choiseul, marquis de Stainville a leading diplomat from Lorraine...
also came to Ermenonville and helped. Robert is described as the architect of Rousseau's cenotaph
Cenotaph
A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...
and possibly also of the Temple of Philosophy. The garden was largely laid out by 1776.
Rousseau
Girardin had long admired the works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He raised his children according to Rousseau's principles, in l'ÉmileEmile: Or, On Education
Émile, or On Education is a treatise on the nature of education and on the nature of man written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who considered it to be the “best and most important of all my writings”. Due to a section of the book entitled “Profession of Faith of the Savoyard Vicar,” Émile was be...
. He visited Rousseau in Paris with his son, who played Rousseau's compositions on the spinet
Spinet
A spinet is a smaller type of harpsichord or other keyboard instrument, such as a piano or organ.-Spinets as harpsichords:While the term spinet is used to designate a harpsichord, typically what is meant is the bentside spinet, described in this section...
while Rousseau sang.
In the wildest part of the park, called Le DesertA desert in the French Encyclopedia of the time referred to "a place propitious for cultivating dreams and nostalgia, Girardin started to build a house for Rousseau, modeled after the "Élysée" of Julie in Rousseau's novel La Nouvelle Héloïse. Rousseau visited the garden in May 1778 and was enchanted by the setting. He stayed in a small cottage with a thatched roof surrounded by rocks, a setting created by Girardin from Rousseau's novel. Rousseau was staying at the cottage until his death. Girardin made a tomb for Rousseau designed by Hubert Robert and sculpted by Jacques-Philippe Le Sueur
Jacques-Philippe Le Sueur
Jacques-Philippe Le Sueur , was a French sculptor.Le Sueur was born at Paris on 24 March 1759. A pupil of François-Joseph Duret, he was remarked in his early youth, and was only 21 years old when Girardin commissioned him to chisel the cenotaph of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, located on the ile des...
. The tomb and the garden became a destination of pilgrimage for admirers of Rousseau, including Joseph II of Austria, King Gustav III of Sweden
Gustav III of Sweden
Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....
, the future Czar Paul I of Russia
Paul I of Russia
Paul I was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. He also was the 72nd Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta .-Childhood:...
, Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, Danton
Georges Danton
Georges Jacques Danton was leading figure in the early stages of the French Revolution and the first President of the Committee of Public Safety. Danton's role in the onset of the Revolution has been disputed; many historians describe him as "the chief force in theoverthrow of the monarchy and the...
, Robespierre, Chateaubriand, Queen Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
and Napoleon Bonaparte.
When Rousseau died, he left behind at Ermenonville the manuscripts of his most important works, including Les Confessions and Les Rêveries du promeneur solitaire
Reveries of a Solitary Walker
Reveries of a Solitary Walker is an unfinished book by Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, written between 1776 and 1778. It was the last of a number of works composed toward the end of his life which were deeply autobiographical in nature...
. Girardin and two other friends of Rousseau prepared a complete edition of his works, which was published in Geneva between 1780 and 1782. The new edition contributed greatly to spreading Rousseau's ideas throughout France in the years leading up to the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
In the French Revolution
Girardin had radical political ideas. Between 1777 and 1780 he brought a lawsuit against Berthier, the last chancellor of the King's exchequer. He called the Royal tax collectors "the oppressors of the peasants and creators of the gangrene of the country." As a protest, in 1787 he blocked the entrance to his park from noble hunters, who claimed the right to hunt anywhere, and put a large sign on a hut by the entrance proclaiming "The carpenter is master of his own house". For this he was called before the Council of Marshals of France and reprimanded, and left to England and Belgium to avoid being arrested.Girardin returned to France after the Revolution in 1789. He entered politics advocating Rousseau's ideas and wanted a representative assembly. He became a member of the party of Jacobins
Jacobin (politics)
A Jacobin , in the context of the French Revolution, was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary far-left political movement. The Jacobin Club was the most famous political club of the French Revolution. So called from the Dominican convent where they originally met, in the Rue St. Jacques ,...
in 1790.
The next year he published a pamphlet proposing the abolition of the Royal Army, and its replacement by a citizen's militia. And another pamphlet calling for all laws to be approved by the public. He was disillusioned by the massacre on the Champ de Mars
Champ de Mars
The Champ de Mars is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh arrondissement, between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after the Campus Martius in Rome, a tribute to the Roman god of war...
in Paris on July 17, 1791; he left politics and moved to his estate at Ermenonville.
In 1792 Girardin and his wife were put under house arrest, and their children imprisoned, until September 1794. Their chateau and gardens were pillaged, and Rousseau's ashes were moved from the garden of Ermenonville to the Panthéon, Paris
Panthéon, Paris
The Panthéon is a building in the Latin Quarter in Paris. It was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve and to house the reliquary châsse containing her relics but, after many changes, now functions as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens...
. Girardin, disillusioned by the behavior of the villagers of Ermenonville, retired to a house at Vernouillet, where he republished as in 1805, and created a small garden. He died in 1808.
Landscape gardening
Girardin's textbook on gardening, was published in 1777 and republished in 1805, under the name René Louis Gerardin. Toward the end of the book he explained his view of the purpose of gardens:"The composition of landscapes," he wrote, "can open the way to the renewal of the moral principles of the nation." He wrote in the last chapter, "...If you want to achieve true happiness, you must always seek the simplest means and the arrangements closest to those of nature, because only those are true and will have a long-lasting effect."
Girardin said that gardens should be composed of a series of scenes, like paintings. Each designed to be seen from a different point of view and at different times of day to achieve an emotional effect. Some scenes should evoke solitude, others the pleasures of bucolic life, others the ideals of harmony and innocence. These scenes would be discovered by following a winding path through the garden, with a series of different views coming as surprises. He combined his ideas of creating gardens with those of a new rural social organization, where peasants own their own land.