Landscapes Revealed Through Representation Pearl Thompson, ID: 971873, Word Count: 2406
Contents: PAGE
TITLE
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Chapter 1: The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne Through a Gardenesque Lens
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Chapter 2: Egyptian Landscapes for the Dead and Living
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Chapter 3: Medieval Monastic Gardens - Mont St. Michel & St. Gall
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Chapter 4: Humphry Repton - Red Books and Ashridge Proposals
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Chapter 5: Roberto Burle Marx - Modern Expression of Brazil
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Bibliography - Sources
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Bibliography - Image Sources
Chapter 1: The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne Through a Gardenesque Lens Background and Chronological Changes in Plan 1837
The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne sits on land traditionally owned by the Boonwurrung and Woiwurrung people of the Kulin nation.1 Colonisation has drastically changed the original landscape (Figure 1). Ferdinand von Mueller, the gardens’ director from 1857 to 1873,2 fostered a pine plantation, fueling interest in exotics and botany.3 Subsequently, William Guilfoyle, director from 1873 to 1909,4 placed increasing emphasis on exotics, specimens, and vistas.5 A massive topographic shift can be seen through the straightening of the Yarra River in 1900.6
separate from city
Yarra straightened
Figure 1. Russell, Robert, and Day & Haghe. Map Shewing the Site of Melbourne and the Position of the Huts & Building Previous to the Foundation of the Township by Sir Richard Bourke in 1837 Hopetoun Lawn
William Guilfoyle’s proposed plan (Figure 2) combines geometric and picturesque elements, in proponance with the gardeneqsue as a mixed style.7 Guilfoyle’s ornamental lakes act as relics of previous billabongs and sections of the Yarra.8 A later plan (Figure 3) reveals Guilfoyle’s actual gardenesque influence on the gardens, particularly through identification, transplanting, and separation of individual specimen trees.9 By the end of Guilfoyle’s directorship, few pre-colonial trees stood in place, including Melaleuca and Eucalyptus species.10
fewer paths
named lawns reservoir
lawns
individual, separated trees buildings
meandering paths
1875 Chapter 1
ornamental lakes
Figure 2. Guilfoyle, W. R., John Noone, and Victoria. Department of Crown Lands Survey. Plan of the Melbourne Botanic Garden. 1875.
1948
integrated with city
Figure 3. Ridoutt, F. C., and G. A. Yorston. Plan of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. 1948.
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Precedents and Influences Reflected In 1832, John Claudius Loudon defined the gardenesque style in England. Loudon’s concept set to “marry science with art in landscape,” through a strong focus on botany and display of each plant’s individual character.11 Loudon’s owndrawings exhibit botanical primacy and fascination (Figure 5).
Figure 4. John Claudius Loudon. The Southern Metropolitan Cemetery, Norwood, Surrey. Date unknown.
Figure 6. David Syme and Co. The Botanic Gardens. 1881.
Loudon’s redesigned cemetery (Figure 4) demonstrates his ideals through conception of the landscape as a display-oriented arrangement of specimen trees. Each tree has space around and the trees’ upright forms echo the shapes of gravestones, transforming the cemetery into a new kind of experience where the trees’ characteristics encompass the same level of importance as the gravestones themselves. Observers can easily differentiate the cemetery interior from its surroundings as a work of art rather than an integrated aspect of nature.
Figure 5. John Claudius Loudon. “Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum; or, The Trees and Shrubs of Britain.” 1845.
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Gardens in Australia in the 19th century utilised the gardenesque to offer cultural and scientific experiences centered around taste, botany, and display.12 This can be seen in David Syme’s depiction of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens (Figure 6). Syme’s illustration highlights cultivation of exotic species, including waterlillies. Syme also provides insight into the people who might enjoy the gardens, seemingly well-dressed individuals gathered to observe, socialise, and wander. Figure 7 demonstrates exotic plantings Melbourne gardens. Figure 7.View of Alexandra Gardens towards the star shape flower bed, circa 1920 - 1954. Rose Stereograph Co. Source: State Library of Victoria.
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Gardenesque Examples within the Gardens
Guilfoyle transplanted thousands of trees, including many from von Mueller’s pine plantation.13 In doing so, he stressed the collection’s diversity and each specimen’s natural character14 by providing more space between trees and highlighting differences.
Guilfoyle’s reservoir responded to water issues facing the gardens.15 However, its form responded to nothing on site, harkening, rather, to an active volcano in the South Pacific (Figure 10).16
Figure 8. Information Information Information Information Information
Figure 10. Engraving of the active volcano on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu, George French Angas, circa 1866. Source: Angas, 1866.
Von Mueller’s pinetum (Figure 9) displays gardenesque elements even prior to Guilfoyle’s influence. However, while von Mueller did accentuate tree’s individuality, his planting schemes lacked the structural diversity of Guilfoyle’s. In addition, von Mueller included masses of indigenous plantings which behaved more as an amalgamate palette, sharply contrasting the pinetum’s bouyant expression of botanical character.
The ‘exotic’ setting turns to fiction through its insertion in a majority picturesque landscape, far from its original context, disregarding indigenous planting style and site history.17 Guilfoyle interpreted his own memories and drawings, creating an artistic18 and symbolic gardenesque landscape of constructed and transposed history and function. Tops of trees represent smoke
The pines’ pointed tops exclaim their individuality.
Broad-leaved tropical plants
Flower beds imitate and symbolise lava. Masses, individual plants indistinguishable Even the shadows identify singular trees. Diverse plantings Figure 9. Date of photograph unknown. Source: RBGM Archives, reproduced in Watts, 1983
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Figure 11. Watercolour painting by William Guilfoyle, illustrating design intent for the Botanic Gardens near the volcano reservoir, no date. Source: Botanic Gardens Archives, reproduced in Pescott, 1982.
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Endnotes 1. Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. “Aboriginal Heritage Walk.” (Melbourne: 2020). 2. Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. “Our Story.” (Melbourne: 2020). 3. Saniga, Andrew. “Stop 8: Balancing the Scientific and Aesthetic.” (Melbourne: University of Melbourne, 2020). 4. Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Our Story. 5. Aitken, Richard. “William Guilfoyle’s First Decade at the Melbourne Botanic Gardens.” (Australian Garden History, 1996), 9 6. Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne (RBGM) Education Service. “Towards Sustainability, Teachers Kit.” Melbourne: 2013), 33. 7. Aitken. “William Guilfoyle’s First Decade at the Melbourne Botanic Gardens,” 9 8. RBGM Education Service. “Towards Sustainability, Teachers Kit,” 33 9. Aitken. “William Guilfoyle’s First Decade at the Melbourne Botanic Gardens,” 9 10. Entwisle, 2015 11. Morris, Colleen. “The Diffusion of Useful Knowledge: John Claudius Loudon and His Influence in the Australian Colonies.” (Garden History, 2004), 116 12. Morris.“The Diffusion of Useful Knowledge: John Claudius Loudon and His Influence in the Australian Colonies,” 118 13. Saniga. “Stop 8: Balancing the Scientific and Aesthetic.” 14. Morris.“The Diffusion of Useful Knowledge: John Claudius Loudon and His Influence in the Australian Colonies,” 118 15. RBGM Education Service, 32 16. Saniga, Andrew. “Stop 5: Guilfoyle’s Volcano.” (Melbourne: University of Melbourne, 2020). 17. Bull, Catherin. “A Purposeful Aesthetic? Valuing Landscape Style and Meaning in the Ecological Age.” (Landscape Australia, 1996), 29. 18. Tanner, Howard. “Gardenesque: An Exhibition & a Book: A Celebration of Australian Gardening.” (Australian Garden History, 2004)
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Chapter 2: Landscapes of the Living and Dead in New Kingdom Egypt Temple Gardens
tree pits
Comparison of archaeological evidence and temple and tomb imagery illuminates a direct relationship between gardens represented in paintings and reliefs and those that once existed in ancient Egypt. In the case of temple and tomb landscapes, tomb reliefs provide insight into their maintenance regimes and hosted funerary and otherwise ceremonial activities. Gardeners, watered trees by hand,1 using water from deep onsite pools.2 Brick-lined tree pits strengthen this adaptation to Egypt’s hot, dry climate3 as they block fertile silt from the surrounding sand.4 pools
Figure 1. Reconstruction of Funerary Temples of Mentuhotep (c. 2055 - 2004 BC), Tuthmoses III (1479 - 1425 BC), Hatshepsut (1473 1458 BC). Source: Farrar, Linda. “Egyptian Gardens.” 2016.
Note that in this reconstruction (Figure 1), the tree pits are clustered which would likely allow the trees to maintain cooler, more humid conditions.
incense tree
Figure 2. Temple Relief at Deir el-Bahari showing tree transportation. Source: Farrar, Linda. “Egyptian Gardens.” 2016.
courtyard garden setting
tomb owner present Figure 3. Courtyard banquet event at the tomb of Tetiky (TT 15). Source: Harrington, Nicola. 2012.
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Figure 2 illustrates careful tree transportation. Individual trees and plants were chosen for practical purposes as well as spiritual purposes in funerary settings. For example mandrake allowed hallucinations and communication with the dead5 at banquets such as the one depicted in Figure 3.6 This relief allows one to see the vast size of tomb courtyards, able to accomodate large crowds for events, rather than solitary mourning.
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Focus on Crops Relief and painting imagery also provide insight into agricultural practice within gardens, and the relationship between horticultural and human fertility.7 For instance, the Figure 5, a ceramic planter shaped like Osiris, plays an active role in ensuring fertility and success in vegetation in the afterlife for the tomb owner.8 Given the vessel’s small size at 24 x 10 cm, it seems more of a symbolic token rather than a determination of actual crop yield in the afterlife.
gardeners’ specialised jobs and tools
Figure 4. Gardeners harvesting grapes from vines. From Tomb of Kaemwaset, Thebes, 19th - 20th Dynasty. Source: Farrar, Linda. “Egyptian Gardens.” 2016.
harvesting
Figures 4 and 6 depict groups of gardeners working fastidiously and collectively, depicting the daily life of a gardener as laborious, but social. Perhaps, since these reliefs lined the tombs of wealthy officials,9 they portray gardeners as complacent and willing to work diligently on each tomb owners’ estate. Figure 6 seems to be broken into specific zones where gardeners perform specialised tasks, including harvesting and watering.10
watering
Figure 5.Terracotta Osiris bed with barley, no date. 24 x 10 cm. Located in Hildesheim. Source: Farrar, Linda. “Egyptian Gardens.” 2016.
harvesting
Figure 6. Painting from the tomv of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep. Image by: Deutches Archaologisches Institut Kairo. Source: Kristensen, Marlene. 2014.
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Domestic Gardens plant species variety
circle = column location
idealised large pool
Reliefs of personal gardens often portray idealised versions of their physically existing counterparts. For example, many reliefs and paintings emphasise deep, square or rectangular pools, such as the one in Figure 7 filled with fish and lotus plants.11 However, in reality, even gardens of wealthy individuals offered less fanciful plants and wells rather than grandiose pools.12 The pool in this garden appears to be the focal point of the plan with its thick border and central location. In addition, while some gardens did include animals and birds, birds were often in cages and these gardens generally ceremonial in function,13 rather than domestic.
wooden model of estate garden
Figure 8. Model of a porch and garden. ca. 1981 - 1975 BC. Artist unknown. Retrieved from: The Met.
Figure 7. Floor painting depicted a garden in Akhenaten’s Palace at Armana, 18th Dynasty. Source: Farrar, Linda. “Egyptian Gardens.” 2016.
In the gardens of Figure 9, trees and plants of various species surround the square pool. The attention to botanic detail emphasises species richness and a variety of textures. The trees closest to the pool likely serve the purpose of providing shade to make the garden and pool area more enjoyable and relaxing.14 The lower garden area may be an arbour,15 though most of the trees appear to be of the same species. In addition, in this plan, the garden and house elements seem to take up roughly equivalent amounts of space, suggesting that the tomb owner, and possibly wealthy elite individuals in general, revered expansive outdoor areas. Yet, this spatial relationship can be seen as ideal, rather than unquestionably realistic due to the plan’s afterlife context.16 Figure 9. House and garden plan from the Tomb of Meryre, 18th Dynasty. Source: Farrar, Linda. “Egyptian Gardens.” 2016.
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Endnotes 1. Linda Farrar. “Egyptian Gardens.” (Gardens and Gardeners of the Ancient World, 2016), 6 2. Marlene Kristensen. “Illustration or Reality: How Should Depictions of Gardens in Ancient Egyptian Tomb Paintings be Perceived?” (Current Research in Egyptology, 2014), 233 3. Farrar. “Egyptian Gardens,” 1 4. Farrar. “Egyptian Gardens,” 8 5. Emanuele Casini. “Rethinking the Multifaceted Aspects of Mandrake in Ancient Egypt.” (Egitto e Vicino Oriente, Vol. 41, 2018), 112 6. Nicola Harrington. “Times of Interaction Between the Living and the Dead: Funerals, Festivals, and Banquets.” (Ancestor Worship and Motruary Ritual in Ancient Egypt), 120. 7. Farrar. “Egyptian Gardens,” 3 8. Farrar. “Egyptian Gardens,” 4 9. Farrar. “Egyptian Gardens,” 1 10. Kristensen. “Illustration or Reality: How Should Depictions of Gardens in Ancient Egyptian Tomb Paintings be Perceived?” 230 11. Kristensen. “Illustration or Reality: How Should Depictions of Gardens in Ancient Egyptian Tomb Paintings be Perceived?” 233 12. Kristensen. “Illustration or Reality: How Should Depictions of Gardens in Ancient Egyptian Tomb Paintings be Perceived?” 233 13. Farrar. “Egyptian Gardens,” 5 14. Farrar. “Egyptian Gardens,” 19 15. Kristensen. “Illustration or Reality: How Should Depictions of Gardens in Ancient Egyptian Tomb Paintings be Perceived?” 229 16. Kristensen. “Illustration or Reality: How Should Depictions of Gardens in Ancient Egyptian Tomb Paintings be Perceived?” 235
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Chapter 3: Medieval Monastic Gardens Mont St. Michael, Normandy, France
Figure 1. Mont St. Michel. Source: Jellicoe, The Landscape of Man, p. 145
19th Century Plan
Given that many medieval European gardens often lack concrete and detailed documentation in their originally intended states,1 medieval artwork may supplement available information in garden exploration and analysis. Mont St. Michel (Figure 1), an island off of Normandy, France,2 grew slowly starting in the 8th century, gaining an abbey in the 10th century and a monastery in the 13th century.3 A page from the Book of Hours (Figure 3) illustrates that water did not always surround the island, as boats lay flat on the sand. In addition, it illustrates Mont St. Michel’s massive scale and religious significance. The surrounding open water and dragon suggest that the island’s tall walls and isolation keep its interior, including the monastery and various gardens safe and separate from chaos. The angels and enlargement of the Archangel Michael also imply spiritual protection.
Cloister Garden
cloister
Figure 2. Plan of Mont St. Michel. Source: Violett-le-Duc, Eugene. 19th century.
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Figure 3. Book of Hours ( Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry ), fol. 195r. c. 1410 - 1416. Retrieved from: Artstor. 2020.
The cloister garden, shown in figure 2 offers a mix of geometric and more naturalistic masses of vegetation. It should be noted that although no trees or vegetation block views across the garden, the architecture blocks views off the island. This creates a sense of enclosure and envelopment. As was often the case for medieval gardens,4 this garden likely served a functional purpose for the monks, possibly as a gathering spot or peaceful area.
Figure 4. Mont St. Michel cloister. Source: Distro, Max. 2012.
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St. Gall, Switzerland St. Gall, a planned, but never realised,5 monastic community in Switzerland,6 may also be investigated through the Book of Hours and other medieval artwork. This plan came about during the Carolingian era under Charlemagne’s reign, during which order and regulation were upheld as favourable values.7 The plan for St. Gall, originally drawn in the early 9th century,8 displays the insular nature of the community with various agricultural areas that support self-sustenance.
Many of the gardens had functional roles. For instance, the pharmacy utilised herbs from the herb garden.9 The inclusion of a separate gardener quarters further foregrounds the perceived significance of gardening and maintenance. The cloister’s central location also suggests this.
One must note that while the agricultural outdoor areas tend to be clustered, the cloister and the cemetery both exist as distinct, single units, heightening their respective importance. Chapter 3
Figure 5. St. Gall, Switzerland (a modernised version). Source: Jellicoe, The Landscape of Man, p. 142.
9th Century Plan Reconstruction
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St. Gall, Switzerland A closer look at a reconstructed drawing of the cloister at St. Gall reveals a similar style to that of Mont St. Michel, with scattered shrubs among a mainly geometric and angular motif. Also like that of Mont St. Michel, St. Gall’s cloister offers no views of the outside beyond the enclosing architecture. This possibly offered an opportunity to retreat from the bustle of the rest of the community.
Cloister Garden Reconstruction
Figure 6. Reconstruction of the monk’s cloister and adjacent buildings. Source: Wilson Quarterly. 1980.
The Book of Hours portrayal of June in Figure 8 demonstrates what just outside of the community might look like, as a largely agricultural landscape. The only purpose of these areas would be agricultural work, and this would be the only reason for the monks to ever leave.10
Figure 7, although it is from a few centuries later, exhibits what an enclosed medieval garden might feel like. Within the scene, angular walls and strategically placed vegetation provide areas for small gatherings within a large space. Perhaps the cloister’s angular hedges also provided this opportunity. Figure 7. The Lover and Dame Oyeuse taken from Roman de la Rose, The British Library, London. Source: Rogers, p. 102.
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Figure 8. June, Book of Hours. Source: Limbourg Brothers. ca. 1411 - 1416.
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Endnotes 1. Andrew Saniga. “Ancient Civilisations, Islamic and Indigenous Landscapes.” (Melbourne: University of Melbourne, 2020). 2. Fifth-century Massacre Discovered by Swedish Archaeologists.” (Medieval Warfare, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2014), 4 3. Britannica. “Mont-Saint-Michel.” (2020). 4. Andrew Saniga. “Ancient Civilisations, Islamic and Indigenous Landscapes.” (Melbourne: University of Melbourne, 2020). 5. Wilson Quarterly. “Heaven on Earth: The Plan of St. Gall.” (The Wilson Quarterly, Winter, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1980), 173 6. William Lake Douglas. “High Impact Exhibits: The Plan off St. Gall and Great English Drawings.” (Landscape Architecture Magazine, Vol. 73, No. 5, 1983), 101 7. Wilson Quarterly. “Heaven on Earth: The Plan of St. Gall,” 173 8. Douglas. “High Impact Exhibits: The Plan off St. Gall and Great English Drawings,” 101 9. Richard E. Sullivan. “What Was Carolingian Monasticism? The Plan of St. Gall and the History of Monasticism.” (After Rome’s Fall: Narrators and Sources of Early Medieval History), 9 10. Wilson Quarterly. “Heaven on Earth: The Plan of St. Gall,” 175
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Chapter 4: Humphry Repton Strategies and Red Books
The landscape gardener Humphry Repton (1752 - 1818)1 produced “Red Books” to propose ground improvements. His red books included drawings of stylised views as well as before and after images enhanced by clever “slides,”2 or removable flaps. Repton’s landscape approach combined elements from the Picturesque and the Kent School, prioritising artistry3 and matching landscapes to houses’ or architectural structures’ character and style.4 Repton’s design tactics, later influenced Loudon and the Gardenesque (see Chapter 1). hand-painted in watercolour
physical “slide”
Figure 2. Sundridge Park Red Book. Source: Repton, Humphry. 1793.
Figure 1. Hatchlands Red Book. Source: Repton, Humphry. Date unknown.
Figure 3. Diagrams of Reflections. Source: Repton, Humphry. 1803.
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Figure 3 demonstrates Repton’s interest in sight lines and strategic, stealthy view manipulation. Figure 4 furthers this by including some topographic manipulations to purposely hide a foot path, allowing the subject estate to appear vast and nearly endless. Repton’s suggested manipulation in this case would shape the land subtly in a manner relatively undetectable from the vantage point.
Figure 4. Strategically hiding foot path from view at the Fort, Bristol. Source: Repton, Humphry. Date unknown.
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Ashridge Estate, Hertfordshire, England Repton, eager to sell himself and the role of a landscape gardener, expressed much excitement towards improving Ashridge, the location of a new gothic style “palace.”5 In his approach, Repton dispised monotony and repetition,6 which can be seen as a direct comment towards previous landscape gardeners or equivalents. Repton sought a freshness through new style combinations and varied visual stimulation. Looking at the before image, Figure 5, nothing in particular stands out. The image simply fades into a scattered, unpurposeful vegetation.
Before
Figure 5. South-facing view from the house (with slide). Source: Repton, Humphry. 1816.
The after image, Figure 6, on the other hand, depicted a constructed view,7 framed by fencing complimentary to the house’s Gothic style. With the inclusion of the fence and terrace, Repton introduces an intermediate medium between house and garden, blurring the boundaries and allowing the two elements to work together. These unifying principles later influenced Loudon’s approach (see Chapter 1). In addition, in the after image, Repton removed various small trees and shrubs in the distance letting the existing large trees some space be grand and architectural in themselves. This also contributes to a much less cluttered and purposeful view. Employing his representational persuasion, Repton even illustrates great changes in the people occupying the lower right corner of each drawing. Whereas before people tended to crops and work, after, people lounge and admire the view. Chapter 4
Proposed
Figure 6. South-facing view from the house (without slide). Source: Repton, Humphry. 1816.
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Ashridge Estate, Hertfordshire, England 1816
Repton’s constructed ornamental perspectives can be seen as “extensions of the house”8 in the way that they integrate with the gothic architecture in their intricacy and inclusion of various arched trellis structures. These trellis structures seem to even invoke the insertion of new architectural elements within the grounds, again acting as intermediate entities as the fence had.
Figure 8. Trellis and garden areas at Ashridge. Source: Repton, Humphry. 1816.
The rosary even echoes Gothic architecture in plan view, appearing as stone ornament or a stain glass window (Figure 7). While the winding paths still harken back to Brown’s Picturespue, a style Repton once admired and adopted,9 the plan includes more geometric elements and presents the grounds as strictly separate from the surroundings.
Figure 7. Proposed plan. Source: Repton, Humphry. 1816.
In Figure 10, a man in fairly formal clothing, possibly a landscape gardener, collects water from the fountain. This could potentially be an example of Repton attempting to glamorise the role and career of a landscape gardener. Leisurely collecting water in stylish clothes among a pleasant garden proposes the position as desirable.
Figure 9. Proposed rosary. Source: Repton, Humphry. 1816.
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Figure 10. Conduit design featuring rosary in background. Source: Repton, Humphry. 1816.
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Endnotes 1. Hazel Fryer. “Humphry Repton’s Commissions in Herefordshire: Picturesque Landscape Aesthetics.” (Garden History, Vol. 22, No. 2, Winter 1994), 163 2. David R. Coffin. “Repton’s ‘Red Book’ for Beaudesert.” (The Princeton University Library Chronicle, Vol. 47, No. 2, Winter, 1986), 122 3. Fryer. “Humphry Repton’s Commissions in Herefordshire: Picturesque Landscape Aesthetics,” 162 4. Coffin. “Repton’s ‘Red Book’ for Beaudesert,” 127 5. Humphry Repton. “Fragment XXVII.” (Fragments on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, 1816), 137 6. Repton. “Fragment XXVII,” 139 7. Coffin. “Repton’s ‘Red Book’ for Beaudesert,” 130 8. Louise Wickham. “The Picturesque Debate as a Political Metaphor.” (Gardens in History: A Political Perspective, 2012), 144 9. Wickham. “The Picturesque Debate as a Political Metaphor,” 150
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Chapter 5: Roberto Burle Marx
Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, utilised representational and horticultural techniques to express Brazilian modernism.
Influences & Style
Burle Marx’s plans and drawings have been likened to abstract paintings of his time, inlcuding those of Henri Matisse.1 However, while Matisse’s paintings and collages often represent intangible qualities, Burle Marx’s plans are highly coded and specific in nature. Figure 1. An Illustration on Jazz. Source: Matisse, Henri. 1947.
Figure 2. The Sheaf. Source: Matisse, Henri. 1953.
“The native plant does best.”2 -Roberto Burle Marx Burle Marx first designed his own garden, fascinated by contrasting foliage and Brazilian native vegetation.3 Despite Burle Marx’s love of plants, he also knew how to complement and play off of architecture in his designs,4 displaying structural elements through specimen plants as well.5 In this sense, while he may have been able to understand his plans as general guidelines, his plans do not truly represent the extent of the spatial variation Burle Marx created in search of a “Brazilian plant vocabulary.”6
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Figure 3. Burle Marx posing with elephant’s ears leaves. Date unknown. Source: The Dirt, ASLA. 2019.
Figure 4. Ministry of the Army garden plan detail. Source: Burle Marx, Roberto. 1970s. Retrieved from: New York Times. 2016.
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Ibirapuera Park - Sao Paulo, Brazil Burle Marx designed Ibirapuera Park for the City of Sao Paulo7 along with architect Oscar Niemeyer. Rather than simply responding to Niemeyer’s work, the two designers collaborated. While Niemeyer obtained influence from modernist architects, including Le Corbusier,8 Burle Marx embodied more abstract ambitions and forms, guided by simple principles as Matisse, such as rhythm.9
1953
Figure 5. Quadricentennial Gardens. Source: Burle Marx, Roberto. 1953. Retrieved from: Museum of Modern Art. 2020.
Marquise
Burle Marx used different colors as well as textures to represent different materials and planting schemes (Figure 5).
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Auditorium
Figure 6. Ibirapuera Park site plan. Source: Burle Marx, Roberto & Niemeyer, Oscar. 1953. Retrieved from: Museum of Modern Art. 2020.
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Ibirapuera Park - Sao Paulo, Brazil Throughout the park, Burle Marx invokes a sense of fantasy, as he generally did through his designs,10 viewing gardens as forms of expression.11 For example, in Figure 7, Burle Marx chose large, spiny plants suggestive of motion and performance to plant adjacent to the auditorium, allowing the performances inside to symbolically seep out into the garden. Auditorium Marquise
Figure 7. Tropical vegetation adjacent to Ibirapuera Auditorium. Source: Thompson, Pearl. 2018.
Figure 8 depicts Burle Marx’s transformation of a commemorative statue into an abstract creature with the mane of a palm lion. As Burle Marx plays into ideas about cannibalising European culture, or anthropophagy,12 an observer would be unable to notice the statue without marvelling in the firework effect of the nearby palm trees. In a more subtle scenario (Figure 9), Burle Marx plays upon the verticality of the marquise columns and tree trunks, while simultaneously breaking this comparison with untamed foliage and irregularly shaped tree canopies.
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Figure 8. Statue of Marques de Tamandare backed by palm trees. Source: Thompson, Pearl. 2018
Figure 9. Trees vertically echoing columns of the marquise and texturally constrasting hard curvilinear lines. Source: Thompson, Pearl. 2018
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Endnotes 1. Holland Cotter. “Revisiting the Constructed Edens of Roberto Burle Marx.” (The New York Times, 2016) 2. Roberto Burle Marx. “A Garden Style in Brazil to Meet Contemporary Needs: with Emphasis on the Paramount Value of Native Plants.” (Landscape Architecture Magazine, Vol. 44, No. 4, July, 1954), 201 3. Sima Eliovson. “Biographical Notes on Roberto Burle Marx, A Unique Personality.” (Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Vol. 1, No. 4, April, 1979), 263 4. Eliovson. “Biographical Notes on Roberto Burle Marx, A Unique Personality.” 268 5. Eliovson. “Biographical Notes on Roberto Burle Marx, A Unique Personality.” 270 6. Burle Marx. “A Garden Style in Brazil to Meet Contemporary Needs: with Emphasis on the Paramount Value of Native Plants,” 201 7. Burle Marx. “A Garden Style in Brazil to Meet Contemporary Needs: with Emphasis on the Paramount Value of Native Plants,” 200 8. Valerie Fraser. “Cannibalizing Le Corbusier: The MES Gardens of Roberto Burle Marx.” (Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 59, No. 2, June, 2000), 187 9. Burle Marx. “A Garden Style in Brazil to Meet Contemporary Needs: with Emphasis on the Paramount Value of Native Plants,” 203 10. Eliovson. “Biographical Notes on Roberto Burle Marx, A Unique Personality.” 271 11. Burle Marx. “A Garden Style in Brazil to Meet Contemporary Needs: with Emphasis on the Paramount Value of Native Plants,” 208 12. Fraser. “Cannibalizing Le Corbusier: The MES Gardens of Roberto Burle Marx,” 190
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Sources Chapter 1 Aitken, Richard. “William Guilfoyle’s First Decade at the Melbourne Botanic Gardens.” Australian Garden History 7, no. 5 (1996): 6-18. Accessed October 2, 2020. http://www. jstor.org/stable/44179582. Bull, Catherin. “A Purposeful Aesthetic? Valuing Landscape Style and Meaning in the Ecological Age.” Landscape Australia 18, no. 1 (69) (1996): 24-30. Accessed October 2, 2020. doi:10.2307/45144944. Entwisle, Tim.Melbourne’s Separation Tree Close to the End of Its Life. The Sydney Morning Herald. January 5, 2015. https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/melbournes-separationtree-close-to-the-end-of-its-life-20150105-12hwch.html Morris, Colleen. “The Diffusion of Useful Knowledge: John Claudius Loudon and His Influence in the Australian Colonies.” Garden History 32, no. 1 (2004): 101-23. Accessed October 2, 2020. doi:10.2307/1587316. Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne Education Service. Towards Sustainability, Teachers Kit. Melbourne: 2013. Retrieved from: https://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/documents/TowardsSustainabilityKitiupdating2013.pdf Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Aboriginal Heritage Walk. Melbourne: 2020. https://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/whats-on/aboriginal-heritage-walk/ Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Our Story. Melbourne, 2020. https://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/about-us/our-stor: Saniga, Andrew. History of Landscape Architecture. Landscapes in Time Digital Fieldtrip. Melbourne: University of Melbourne, 2020. Tanner, Howard. “Gardenesque: An Exhibition & a Book: A Celebration of Australian Gardening.” Australian Garden History 16, no. 3 (2004): 14-15. Accessed October 2, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44179218.
Chapter 2 Casini, Emanuele. “Rethinking the Multifaceted Aspects of Mandrake in Ancient Egypt.” Egitto e Vicino Oriente, vol. 41 (2018): 101-115. Farrar, Linda. “Egyptian Gardens.” 2016. Gardens and Gardeners of the Ancient World. Oxbow Books and Windgather Press. 1-35. Harrington, Nicola. “Times of Interaction Between the Living and the Dead: Funerals, Festivals, and Banquets.” Ancestor Worship and Mortruary Ritual in Ancient Egypt. Oxbow Books. 103-123. Kristensen, Marlene. 2014. “Illustration or Reality: How Should Depictions of Gardens in Ancient Egyptian Tomb Paintings be Perceived?” Current Research in Egyptology. Oxbow Books. 229-238
Chapter 3 Douglas, William Lake. “High Impact Exhibits: The Plan Off St. Gall and Great English Drawings.” Landscape Architecture Magazine, Vol. 73, No. 5, 1983): 101-102. “Fifth-century Massacre Discovered by Swedish Archaeologists.” Medieval Warfare, Vol. 4, No. 1 (2014): 4-5. “Mont-Saint-Michel.” Britannica. Accessed 2020. https://www.britannica.com/place/Mont-Saint-Michel Saniga, Andrew. “Ancient Civilisations, Islamic and Indigenous Landscapes” [Lecture]. History of Landscape Architecture. Melbourne: University of Melbourne. 2020. Sullivan, Richard E. “What Was Carolingian Monasticism? The Plan of St. Gall and the History of Monasticism.” After Rome’s Fall: Narrators and Sources of Early Medieval History. University of Toronto Press. 251-287 Wilson Quarterly. “Heaven on Earth: The Plan of St. Gall.” The Wilson Quarterly, Vol. 4, No. 1 (1980): 171-179.
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Sources Chapter 4 Coffin, David R. “Repton’s ‘Red Book’ for Beaudesert.” The Princeton University Library Chronicle, Vol. 47, No. 2 (1986): 121-146. Fryer, Hazel. “Humphry Repton’s Commissions in Herefordshire: Picturesque Landscape Aesthetics.” Garden History, Vol. 22, No. 2 (1994): 162-174 Repton, Humphry. 1816. “Fragment XVII.” Fragments on Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening. 137-139. Retrieved from: The Gardens Trust. Accessed 2020. https://thegardenstrust.blog/2014/04/20/humphry-repton-2/ Wickham, Louise. 2012. “The Picturesque Debate as a Political Metaphor.” Gardens in History: A Political Perspective. Oxbow Books & Windgather Press. 141-166.
Chapter 5 Burle Marx, Roberto. “A Garden Style in Brazil to Meet Contemporary Needs: with Emphasis on the Paramount Value of Native Plants.” Landscape Architecture Magazine, Vol. 44, No. 4 (1954): 200-208. Cotter, Holland. “Revisiting the Constructed Edens of Roberto Burle Marx.” The New York Times, (2016) Eliovson, Sima. “Biographical Notes on Roberto Burle Marx, A Unique Personality.” Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Vol. 1, No. 4 (1979): 263-273 Fraser, Valerie. “Cannibalizing Le Corbusier: The MES Gardens of Roberto Burle Marx.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 59, No. 2 (2000): 180-193 Kristensen, Marlene. 2014. “Illustration or Reality: How Should Depictions of Gardens in Ancient Egyptian Tomb Paintings be Perceived?” Current Research in Egyptology. Oxbow Books. 229-238
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Image Sources Chapter 1 Figure 1. Russell, Robert, and Day & Haghe. Map Shewing the Site of Melbourne and the Position of the Huts & Building Previous to the Foundation of the Township by Sir Richard Bourke in 1837 [cartographic Material] / Surveyed & Drawn by Robert Russell. Melbourne: Photo-Lithographed at the Department of Lands and Survey by T.F. McGauran, 1911. Figure 2. Guilfoyle, W. R., John Noone, and Victoria. Department of Crown Lands Survey. Plan of the Melbourne Botanic Garden / William R. Guilfoyle. Melbourne: Photo-lithographed at the Department of Lands and Survey by J. Noone, 1875. Figure 3. Ridoutt, F. C., and G. A. Yorston. Plan of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens [cartographic Material] / Prepared from Field Notes of Survey by F. C. Ridoutt ; Drawn and Reproduced at the Dept. of Lands and Survey, Melbourne, March 1948. [by] G.A. Yorston, 16’3’48. Melbourne: J.J. Gourley, Govt. Printer, 1948. Figure 4. John Claudius Loudon. The Southern Metropolitan Cemetery, Norwood, Surrey. Date unknown. Retrieved from: https://alchetron.com/John-Claudius-Loudon Figure 5. John Claudius Loudon. “Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum; or, The Trees and Shrubs of Britain.” Wood envgraving. Reverse side blank. 1844. https://www.albion-prints.com/john-loudon-1844-antique-botanical-tree-print-the-aleppo-pine-437477-p.asp Figure 6. David Syme and Co. The Botanic Gardens. [Picture]. Melbourne: David Syme and Co., 1881. handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/252974. Figure 7. View of Alexandra Gardens towards the star shape flower bed, circa 1920 - 1954. Rose Stereograph Co. Source: State Library of Victoria. Stop 13: Alexandra Gardens. Landscapes in Time Digital Fieldtrip. 2020. Figure 8. RBGM Archives, reproduced in Pescott, 1982. Retrieved from: Stop 8: Balancing the Scientific and Aesthetic. Landscapes in Time Digital Fieldtrip. 2020. Figure 9. RBGM Archives, reproduced in Watts, 1983. Retrieved from: Stop 8: Balancing the Scientific and Aesthetic. Landscapes in Time Digital Fieldtrip. 2020. Figure 10.Engraving of the active volcano on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu, George French Angas, circa 1866. Source: Angas, 1866. Retrieved from: Stop 5: Guilfoyle’s Volcano. Landscapes in Time Digital Fieldtrip. 2020. Figure 11. Watercolour painting by William Guilfoyle, illustrating design intent for the Botanic Gardens near the volcano reservoir, no date. Source: Botanic Gardens Archives, reproduced in Pescott, 1982. Retrieved from: Stop 5: Guilfoyle’s Volcano. Landscapes in Time Digital Fieldtrip. 2020.
Chapter 2 Figure 1. Reconstruction of funerary temples of Mentuhotep (c. 2055 - 2004 BC), Tuthmoses III (1479 - 1425 BC), Hatshepsut (1473 - 1458 BC). Source: Farrar, Linda. “Egyptian Gardens.” Gardens and Gardeners of the Ancient World. Oxbow Books & Windgather Press, 2016. Figure 2. Temple relief at Deir el-Bahari showing tree transportation. Source: Farrar, Linda. “Egyptian Gardens.” Gardens and Gardeners of the Ancient World. Oxbow Books & Windgather Press, 2016. Figure 3. Courtyard banquet event at the tomb of Tetiky (TT 15). Source: Harrington, Nicola. “Times of Interaction Between the Living and the Dead: Funerals, Festivals, and Banquets. Living with the Dead. Oxbow Books, 2012. Figure 4. Gardeners harvesting grapes from vines. From the tomb of Kaemwaset, Thebes, 19th - 20th Dynasty. Source: Farrar, Linda. “Egyptian Gardens.” Gardens and Gardeners of the Ancient World. Oxbow Books & Windgather Press, 2016. Figure 5. Terracotta Osiris bed with barley, no date. 24 x 20 cm. Located in Hildesheim. Source: Farrar, Linda. “Egyptian Gardens.” Gardens and Gardeners of the Ancient World. Oxbow Books & Windgather Press, 2016.. Figure 6. Painting from the tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep. Image by: Deutches Archaologisches Institut Kairo. Source: Kristensen, Marlene. “Illustration or Reality: How Should Depictions of Gardens in Ancient Egyptian Tomb Paintings be Perceived? Current Research in Egyptology. Oxbow Books, 2014. Figure 7. Floor painting depicting a garden in Akhenaten’s Palace at Amarna, 18th Dynasty. Source: Farrar, Linda. “Egyptian Gardens.” Gardens and Gardeners of the Ancient World. Oxbow Books & Windgather Press, 2016. Figure 8. Model of a porch and garden. ca. 1981 - 1975 BC. Artist Unknown. Retrieved from: The Met. Accessed 2020. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544256 Figure 9. House and garden plan from the tomb of Meryre, 18th Dynasty. Source: Farrar, Linda. “Egyptian Gardens.” Gardens and Gardeners of the Ancient World. Oxbow Books & Windgather Press, 2016.
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Image Sources Chapter 3 Figure 1. Mont St. Michel. Source: Jellicoe, The Landscape of Man, p. 145. Retrieved from: Saniga, Andrew. “Ancient Civilisations, Islamic and Indigenous Landscapes” [Lecture]. 2020. Figure 2. Plan of Mont St. Michel. Source: Violett-le-Duc, Eugene. 19th century. Retrieved from: University of Pittsburgh. Medieval Art and Architecture: France, Mont-Saint-Michel Plans, Maps and Drawings. 1996. https://www.pitt.edu/~medart/menufrance/msmplan.html Figure 3. Book of Hours (Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry), fol. 195r. Chantilly: Mus. Condé; lat. 1284, ca. 1410- 1416. Retrieved from: Artstor. Accessed 2020. https://library. artstor.org/asset/AWSS35953_35953_31695840. Figure 4. Mont St. Michel cloister. Source: Distro, Max. “Mont Saint Michel, The Merveille. Normandy, France.” Travel to Eat. 2012. https://traveltoeat.com/mont-saint-michel-themerveille-normandy-france/ Figure 5. St. Gall, Switzerland (a modernised version). Source: Jellicoe, The Landscape of Man, p. 142. Retrieved from: Saniga, Andrew. “Ancient Civilisations, Islamic and Indigenous Landscapes” [Lecture]. 2020. Figure 6. Reconstruction of the monks’ cloister and adjacent buildings. Source: The Wilson Quarterly. “The Plan of St. Gall.” 1980. Figure 7. The Lover and Dame Oyeuse taken from Roman de la Rose, The British Library, London. Source: Rogers, p. 102. Retrieved from: Saniga, Andrew. “Ancient Civilisations, Islamic and Indigenous Landscapes” [Lecture]. 2020. Figure 8. June, Book of Hours (Très Riches Heures) miniature. By the Limbourg Brothers. ca. 1411 - 1416. Retrieved from: Artsy. Accessed 2020. https://www.artsy.net/artwork/limbourg-brothers-june-miniature-from-the-tres-riches-heures.
Chapter 4 Figure 1. Hatchlands Red Book. Source: Repton, Humphry. Date Unknown. Retrieved from: The Morgan Library & Museum. “Humphry Repton’s Red Books.” 2010. https://www. themorgan.org/collection/Humphry-Reptons-Red-Books Figure 2. Sundridge Park Red Book. Source: Repton, Humphry. 1793. Retrieved from: The Flora Journal. “Humphry Repton’s Red Books on Display.” Accessed 2020. https://theflorajournal.international/2018/09/10/humphry-reptons-red-books-on-display/ Figure 3. Diagram of Reflections. Source: Repton, Humphry. 1803. Retrieved from: Saniga, Andrew. “Landscape Gardening, Reform, and Nineteenth Century Europe” [Lecture]. 2020. Figure 4. Strategically hiding foot path from view at the Fort, Bristol. Source: Repton, Humphry. Date unknown. Retrieved from: Hoare, Charlotte. St. John’s College. University of Cambridge. “Humphry Repton: Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening.” 2013. Figure 5. South-facing view from the house (with slide). Source: Repton, Humphry. 1816. Retrieved from: Historic England: Heritage Calling. “The Life and Landscapes of Humphry Repton.” 2018. https://heritagecalling.com/2018/03/23/the-life-and-landscapes-of-humphry-repton/ Figure 6. South-facing view from the house (without slide). Source: Repton, Humphry. 1816. Retrieved from: Historic England: Heritage Calling. “The Life and Landscapes of Humphry Repton.” 2018. https://heritagecalling.com/2018/03/23/the-life-and-landscapes-of-humphry-repton/ Figure 7. Proposed plan. Source: Repton, Humphry. 1816. Retrieved from: The Garden Trust. “Humphry Repton at Ashridge.” 2014. https://thegardenstrust.blog/2014/04/20/humphry-repton-2/ Figure 8. Trellis and garden areas at Ashridge. Source: Repton, Humphry. 1816. Image owned by: The J Paul Getty Trust. 2018. Retrieved from: Historic England: Heritage Calling. “The Life and Landscapes of Humphry Repton.” 2018. https://heritagecalling.com/2018/03/23/the-life-and-landscapes-of-humphry-repton/ Figure 9. Proposed rosary. Retrieved from: The Garden Trust. “Humphry Repton at Ashridge.” 2014. https://thegardenstrust.blog/2014/04/20/humphry-repton-2/ Figure 10. Conduit design featuring rosary in the background. Retrieved from: The Garden Trust. “Humphry Repton at Ashridge.” 2014. https://thegardenstrust.blog/2014/04/20/ humphry-repton-2/
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Image Sources Chapter 5 Figure 1. An illustration on Jazz. Source: Matisse, Henri. 1947. Retrieved from: Art Gallery New South Wales. 2014. https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/151.2014.11/ Figure 2. The Sheaf. Source: Matisse, Henri. 1953. Location: University of California, Los Angeles. Hammer Museum. Retrieved from: Tate Modern / Tate Kids. Accessed 2020. https://www.tate.org.uk/kids/explore/who-is/who-henri-matisse Figure 3. Date Unknown. Source: “Roberto Burle Marx Takes over the New York Botanical Garden.” The Dirt, ASLA. 2019. https://dirt.asla.org/2019/06/17/roberto-burle-marxtakes-over-the-new-york-botanical-garden/ Figure 4. Ministry of the Army garden plan detail. Source: Burle Marx, Roberto. 1970s. Retrieved from: Cotter, Holland. “Revisiting the Constructed Edens of Roberto Burle Marx.” The New York Times. 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/arts/design/review-revisiting-the-constructed-edens-of-roberto-burle-marx.html Figure 5. Quadricentennial Gardens. Source: Burle Marx, Roberto. 1953. Retrieved from: Museum of Modern Art. 2020. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/286 Figure 6. Ibirapuera Park site plan. Source: Burle Marx, Roberto & Niemeyer, Oscar. 1953. Retrieved from: Museum of Modern Art. 2020. https://www.moma.org/collection/ works/252 Figure 7. Tropical vegetation adjacent to Ibirapuera auditorium. Source: Thompson, Pearl. 2018. Figure 8. Statue of Marques de Tamandare backed by palm trees. Source: Thompson, Pearl. 2018. Figure 9. Trees vertically echoing columns of the marquis and texturally constrasting hard curvilinear lines. Source: Thompson, Pearl. 2018.
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