Parc Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Encyclopedia
The Parc Jean-Jacques-Rousseau is a French landscape garden
at Ermenonville
, in the Département of Oise. It is named for the philospher Jean-Jacques Rousseau
, who stayed there the last six weeks of his life. He died there in 1778 and was buried in an island in the park. The western part, called "le Désert" is managed by the Institut de France
, and the northern part by a hotel/restaurant at the château in Ermenonville
. The other parts are not open to the public, for various reasons.
was created by René de Girardin (1735–1808). Girardin was an officer under Stanislas Leszczyński, and fought in the Seven Years War.
Girardin acquired a substantial inheritance from his mother René Hatte in 1762, enabling him to create his park and gardens at Ermenonville.. Girardin brought in two hundred English workers to create his garden.
It was inspired by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
's philosophy, in his 1761 work, Julie, or the New Heloise, drawing from the works of the English writers Joseph Addison
, Alexander Pope
and Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury
p. 62, all three of whom had written on English gardens.
Girardin laid out the garden based on ideas expressed in an essay entitled De la composition des paysages sur le terrain ou des moyens d'embellir la nature près des habitations en y joignant l'agréable à l'utile ("On the creation of landscapes, or means of embellishing nature near inhabited places in merging the agreeable and the useful").
In the 1770s Rousseau and Girardin met up in Paris.. In the spring of 1778, his friend Thérèse Levasseur
fell into bad health, and her doctor advised her to have a rest in the countryside. The two then tried to find a new place to live.p. 59.
Girardin, one of Rousseu's many admirers, invited them to stay at a cottage in his garden, and they did from May 1778.p. 16. There, Rousseau recovered his extroadinary enthusiasm for nature. As he said to his friend Girardin: "For a long time, my heart drew me here, and what my eyes see, make me want to stay here always".
On July 4, 1778, Rousseau was buried at midnight, by torchlight, on a little island in the park which now bears his name.
On December 26, 1787, a violent storm devastated parts of the park, which were only partly repaired..
It was visited in its early years by several prominent people, including
Emperor Joseph II of Austria in 1777, Queen Marie-Antoinette in spring 1780, King Gustave III of Sweden in 1783 and First Consul Napoléon Bonaparte, several times beginning in 1800., Benjamin Franklin
and Maximilien de Robespierre..
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...
, in the Département of Oise. It is named for the philospher Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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...
, who stayed there the last six weeks of his life. He died there in 1778 and was buried in an island in the park. The western part, called "le Désert" is managed by the Institut de France
Institut de France
The Institut de France is a French learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is the Académie française.The institute, located in Paris, manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and chateaux open for visit. It also awards prizes and subsidies, which...
, and the northern part by a hotel/restaurant at the château in 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...
. The other parts are not open to the public, for various reasons.
History
The park at ErmenonvilleErmenonville
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...
was created by René de Girardin (1735–1808). Girardin was an officer under Stanislas Leszczyński, and fought in the Seven Years War.
Girardin acquired a substantial inheritance from his mother René Hatte in 1762, enabling him to create his park and gardens at Ermenonville.. Girardin brought in two hundred English workers to create his garden.
It was inspired by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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 philosophy, in his 1761 work, Julie, or the New Heloise, drawing from the works of the English writers Joseph Addison
Joseph Addison
Joseph Addison was an English essayist, poet, playwright and politician. He was a man of letters, eldest son of Lancelot Addison...
, 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 Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury was an English politician, philosopher and writer.-Biography:...
p. 62, all three of whom had written on English gardens.
Girardin laid out the garden based on ideas expressed in an essay entitled De la composition des paysages sur le terrain ou des moyens d'embellir la nature près des habitations en y joignant l'agréable à l'utile ("On the creation of landscapes, or means of embellishing nature near inhabited places in merging the agreeable and the useful").
Thérèse Levasseur
Thérèse Levasseur, also known as Thérèse Le Vasseur and Thérèse Lavasseur, was the domestic partner of French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau....
fell into bad health, and her doctor advised her to have a rest in the countryside. The two then tried to find a new place to live.p. 59.
Girardin, one of Rousseu's many admirers, invited them to stay at a cottage in his garden, and they did from May 1778.p. 16. There, Rousseau recovered his extroadinary enthusiasm for nature. As he said to his friend Girardin: "For a long time, my heart drew me here, and what my eyes see, make me want to stay here always".
On July 4, 1778, Rousseau was buried at midnight, by torchlight, on a little island in the park which now bears his name.
On December 26, 1787, a violent storm devastated parts of the park, which were only partly repaired..
Réception
The park was considered one of the foremost English-style parks on the Continent, remarkable "for the landscapes it offered to visitors and the relections it inspired in the course of a ramble". p. 59.It was visited in its early years by several prominent people, including
Emperor Joseph II of Austria in 1777, Queen Marie-Antoinette in spring 1780, King Gustave III of Sweden in 1783 and First Consul Napoléon Bonaparte, several times beginning in 1800., 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...
and Maximilien de Robespierre..
Related articles
- Jardin anglaisJardin AnglaisThe Jardin Anglais is an urban park in Geneva, Switzerland, situated at the location of an ancient harbor and a wood.The park was created in 1855...
- ErmenonvilleErmenonvilleErmenonville 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...
- Château d'Ermenonville
- Forêt d'Ermenonville
- Abbaye de Chaalis
- La Mer de sable
External links
- Description du parc Jean-Jacques Rousseau avec plan
- Parc Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Google Maps), the indicator points out the Petit Parc, south of the Rue Réné-de-Girardin. There is no geographic label for the château d'Ermenonville on this map..