To my delight I was not only in search of this over-scaled column, but, in fact, the area I suspected to be the 18th century park, had been populated with 16 other eccentric structures …. Though I could not discern a column in the immediate vicinity, I realized I was wandering through what must have been a most extraordinary dream world of bizarre and fanciful structures, or follies, all connected by strategically placed picturesque paths …. The garden follies included, among others: a Tartar Tent; an Open-Air Theater; an Obelisk; a Temple of Pan; a Temple of Repose; a Pyramid; an Isle of Happiness; a Chinese House; a Gothic Ruin; a Hermitage; a Dairy; a Grotto; and an Orangery. The passage of time has destroyed most of them, but the vestiges and hints of some remained exposed …. disarming and disconcerting statues …. all in a ruinous state adding more magic to the bizarre and picturesque world of Monville.
Paris
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Judith DiMaio Architect FAIA RIBA
© Robert Kahn/The Little Bookroom
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The Désert de Retz, an 18th century French park of wonders
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EXCERPT
Location: Allée Frédéric Passy, Chambourcy, France …. 15 miles southwest of the center of Paris. Sometime ago, leafing through a book on formal and picturesque gardens, my eye was caught by a black and white photograph of a gigantic broken, fluted column covered by entwined vines and in what appeared to be a very dark, misty forest …. a gigantic broken column, supposedly once inhabited, but then, along with the entire park, forgotten ….
In 1977, …. on a wet, overcast summer day with a copy of an 18th century plan of the Désert de Retz in hand, I discovered that the park's creator/owner, was an aristocrat of the Ancien Régime, François Racine de Monville, a Parisian. And 'Désert' because at the time of its creation (1774–1789) the Duc …. had cleared a portion of his domain …. to carve out a clearing (desert) in the forest for his fanciful garden/park, ….
Cross section of the circular residence in the Désert de Retz
Plan of Le Désert de Monsieur de Monville, 1785
La Glaciere — the ice house
Entrance to Désert de Retz from the Marly forest leading through the huge Rockery— here illuminated by torch-bearing fauns
Tour du Désert de Retz—Plan, from Le Forum de Marie-Antoinette
Sa vie, son siècle
Note: all engravings on this page are from:
Detail des nouveaux jardins à la mode,
Georges-Louis Le Rouge and Sir William Chambers, 1776, public domain
Courtesy of the Internet Archive
Judith DiMaio is a widely-published author of essays on aspects of art and architecture —her essays have been included in the pocket guides, ‘City Secrets: The Essential Insider's Guide’ specifically the volumes on Rome; Paris; and Florence and Venice. Series editor: Robert Kahn.
Click on the three city names, below, or click on the book covers to the right, to read excerpts from the respective travel guide.
Courtesy of: culturezvous.com
Click image to see it much larger and the follies located on the plan
Click image to see larger