The late 1760s saw a number of French aristocrats remake their gardens ‘à la manière anglaise’, a naturalistic taste characterised by all the ‘bizarreness so dear to that nation’. The epidemic of Anglomanie that followed the Seven Years War produced some of the most extravagant landscapes of the age – meandering rivers, mysterious woods, rocky outcrops and cascades, false ruins, philosopher’s huts, all often confined within compact suburban sites. This series of four talks considers the evolution of the Jardin Anglais from its outlandish beginnings to the sublime and transporting realisations of the late 1780s. It considers what it meant for an aristocrat to remake his or her garden in the image of the national rival at a time of heightened patriotic sentiment? What sources inspired these compositions? And how was the English aesthetic adapted to suit French tastes, mentalities and mores?

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This ticket is for this individual session and costs £5, and you may purchase tickets for other individual sessions via the links below, or you may purchase a ticket for the entire course of 4 sessions at a cost of £16 via the link here.

Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the first talk, which will be the same link throughout (If you do not receive this link please contact us), and a link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 1 week.

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Week 1, 21 March. The Duc de Chartres’ Monceau and the early Jardin Anglais. First in a series of 4 online lectures, £5 each or all 4 for £16.

Week 2, 28 March. The Duc de Choiseul’s Chanteloup. Second in a series of 4 online lectures, £5 each or all 4 for £16.

Week 3, 4 April. Marie-Antoinette’s Petit Trianon. Third in a series of 4 online lectures, £5 each or all 4 for £16.

Week 4, 11 April. The Marquis de Laborde’s Méréville & the Princesse de Monaco’s Betz. Last in a series of 4 online lectures, £5 each or all 4 for £16.

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English Gardens in Pre-Revolutionary France - Petit Trianon