4.4 | Jardin à la française

Fig. 79 - Jardin du Palais Royal Source: www.tupariscombien.com

French garden is planned on a line and obeys two fundamental principles: a focused and symmetrical organisation. The space is broken down into a succession of geometric trees organised around axis, which opens into perspective. Geometry and perspective reign the supreme there, reflecting the royal desire to force nature to subdue it in forms which are not its own.

The plan is geometric and takes full advantage of advances in optics, similarly the plant elevations are cut, forming walls and topiaries. The garden is ordered symmetrically, theatricality is expressed by surprise, the walker must discover new perspectives or hidden places. The groves contain discrete rooms. It is designed like a building, in a succession of rooms that the visitor walks through, subjected to surprises, rests and perspectives, lights and shadows, allusions and illusions.