Gardens of the Northern Renaissance
the time the 1560s, the French had developed the basic characteristics of Northern Renaissance gardens. These gardens tended to be enclosed by pergolas or galleries, with geometric designs in square compartments, and when water was a feature, it was often in canals or moats. The Dutch architect Hans Vredman de Vries (1527 - 1606) took these elements and created an international style which became typical of northern European gardens, such as Heidelberg's Hortus Palatinus, until the middle of the seventeenth century.
By the middle of the seventeenth century the French had absorbed the gardens of Renaissance Italy to the point where they were able a style which was uniquely their own, and which would dominate garden design in Europe, including Italy for a century; this was the classical French garden, which achieved its ultimate perfection in the gardens which were designed by Andre le Notre. The simple humanist gardens of fifteenth century Florence had given birth to the overwhelming gardens which were created for Louis XIV at Versailles. The Renaissance was over, but the Age of Enlightenment was already beginning.
The copyright of the article Gardens of the Northern Renaissance
in Garden Design is owned by Kirk Johnson. Permission to republish Gardens of the Northern Renaissance
in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Articles in this Topic
Discussions in this Topic
Latest Articles