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Gardens of Court and Country: English Design 1630-1730

Gardens of Court and Country: English Design 1630-1730

Current price: $55.00
Publication Date: June 20th, 2017
Publisher:
Paul Mellon Centre
ISBN:
9780300222012
Pages:
416

Description

Gardens of Court and Country provides the first comprehensive overview of the development of the English formal garden from 1630 to 1730. Often overshadowed by the English landscape garden that became fashionable later in the 18th century, English formal gardens of the 17th century displayed important design innovations that reflected a broad rethinking of how gardens functioned within society. With insights into how the Protestant nobility planned and used their formal gardens, the domestication of the lawn, and the transformation of gardens into large rustic parks, David Jacques explores the ways forecourts, flower gardens, bowling greens, cascades, and more were created and reimagined over time.  This handsome volume includes 300 illustrations – including plans, engravings, and paintings – that bring lost and forgotten gardens back to life.    

Published in association with the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

About the Author

David Jacques is an independent scholar and a consultant in historic landscapes, parks, and gardens.

Praise for Gardens of Court and Country: English Design 1630-1730

“This is the book for which serious historians of garden history in this country have been waiting… the fruit of some four decades of both archival and on-the-ground research brought together in one magisterial work. The result is a triumph, and a publication that will remain a cornerstone of all future studies.”—Roy Strong, Country Life

“The book’s illustrations are astonishing. . . . The integration of visual and textual evidence allows many insights and discoveries.” —Tom Turner, Garden History
 

“While few of these high-maintenance gardens exist today, they are brought alive through contemporary engravings and Jacques’ text.”—Jane Owen, Financial Times

“Excellent . . . impressive . . . engaging . . . brings the splendid gardens of this period into vivid relief.”—Harry Adams, New Criterion

Won the 2017 Choice Award for Outstanding Academic Title