Dezallier D'Argenville
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The family of Dezallier d'Argenville produced two writers and connoisseurs, father and son, in the course of the 18th century. The father, Antoine-Joseph Dezallier d'Argenville (1680–1765) is now best known for writing the fullest French treatise on the
French formal garden The French formal garden, also called the , is a style of "Landscape architecture, landscape" garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed ...
style of his lifetime, as well as books on
natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
, and as a significant collector of
old master print An old master print (also spaced masterprint) is a work of art produced by a printing process within the Western tradition (mostly by Old Masters). The term remains current in the art trade, and there is no easy alternative in English to distingu ...
s. His son, Antoine-Nicolas Dezallier d'Argenville (1723–1796), wrote successful guides to Paris and its monuments, as well as books on natural history, a biographical collection on architects and sculptors, and other subjects.


Antoine-Joseph Dezallier d'Argenville

Antoine-Joseph Dezallier d'Argenville (Paris, 1 July 1680 – 29 November 1765), avocat to the
Parlement of Paris The ''Parlement'' of Paris () was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. Parlements were judicial, rather than legislative, bodies and were composed of magistrates. Though not representative bodies in the p ...
and secretary to the king, was a connoisseur of gardening who laid out two for himself and his family, before writing ''La théorie et la pratique du jardinage'' (published anonymously, 1709; second edition, 1713), based on his experience and his reading. The majority of the illustrations were by Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond, who was credited as the author in the third edition, 1722. As the work of a gentleman rather than a gardener, as previous French books on gardening had all been, Dezallier d'Argenville's work was laid out like a treatise of architecture, addressed as much to the architect and the patron as to the practising gardener. As its title suggests, the treatise is composed of two parts: the theoretical principles of the art of fine gardening and its practical applications. The first section considers the principles of siting the ''maison de plaisance'' relative to its gardens, techniques of laying out geometric figures in parterres, avenues and formal tree plantations ('' bosquets''), and the planning of garden
pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
s and the siting of sculpture, an essential element in the ''jardin français'' or
French formal garden The French formal garden, also called the , is a style of "Landscape architecture, landscape" garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed ...
. The second part applies the principles in earth works, terraces and stairs, and the
hydraulics Hydraulics () is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counterpart of pneumatics, which concer ...
necessary for constructing '' jeux d'eau'': fountains, cascades, pools (''bassins'') and canals. His rational principles could adapt formal
parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, plats, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the ...
gardening to the simplified programs available to the upper middle class, which accounts for the immense popularity of his book, which is the central document in the 18th century formal garden in the wake of
André Le Nôtre André Le Nôtre (; 12 March 1613 – 15 September 1700), originally rendered as André Le Nostre, was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France. He was the landscape architect who designed Gardens ...
. The work went through thirteen editions in France, where the English mode of landscape design scarcely made itself known before the French Revolution. It was published in a German version (1731) and translated into English by the architect John James, as ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'' (1712, with a 2nd edition in 1728, and a 3rd edition in 1743, when the
English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal ...
, might have seemed to make its formal designs passé.) Dezallier d'Argenville's ''Théorique'' in its English version introduced the
Ha-ha A ha-ha ( or ), also known as a sunk fence, blind fence, ditch and fence, deer wall, or foss, is a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier (particularly on one side) while preserving an uninterrupted view of the lan ...
, the invisible fence, to widespread English practice, although Althorp already had one in 1697.


Dezailler d'Argenville

Dezailler d'Argenville was called upon to edit or contribute more than 600 entries in the ''
Encyclopédie , better known as ''Encyclopédie'' (), was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. It had many writers, known as the Encyclopédistes. It was edited by Denis ...
'' of
Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominent figure during th ...
and
Jean le Rond d'Alembert Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert ( ; ; 16 November 1717 – 29 October 1783) was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. Until 1759 he was, together with Denis Diderot, a co-editor of the ''Encyclopé ...
, published in parts from 1751. Dezallier d'Argenville's interest in
natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
resulted in two treatises, on shells and minerals, ''L'histoire naturelle éclaircie dans deux de ses parties principales, la lithologie et la conchyliologie''. (Paris 1742) ''La Conchyliologie, ou Traité sur la nature des coquillages'' 1757 etc. The connoisseurship of shells and their most colourful and fantastic form was a gentleman's occupation and a worthy inclusion in a ''cabinet de curiosités'' before it became a science under the Linnaean system of classification. He was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
of London in March 1750. Beyond his success in the fields of gardening and natural history, Dezallier d'Argenville was a print collector. He organised his extensive collection by subject rather than by school, as outlined in the 'Lettre sur le choix et l'arrangement d'un Cabinet curieux…' that he published in the ''Mercure de France'' in 1727. Within the 'Lettre', which takes the form of an article, Dezallier d'Argenville describes 'Three volumes containing the clothing and fashion of the different nations of the world', and a further volume documenting costumes from his native France. The sale of Dezallier's property, which took place on 3 March 1766 following his death in 1765, mentions within these volumes a total of 1,600 costume prints from the time of King Charles II until 1730. It also describes 'good prints by le Clerc, Picart, Hollar, Royn de Hoog and several Chinese drawings. All four volumes are now located at the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal in Paris.D. Pullins, 'Dezallier d'Argenville's ''Recueils'' of Costume Prints Rediscovered', ''Print Quarterly'', Vol. XXXIII, No. 2 (June 2016): p. 147.


Antoine-Nicolas Dezallier d'Argenville

His son, Antoine-Nicolas Dezallier d'Argenville (1723–1796), was the anonymous author ''(M. D***.)'' of ''Voyage Pictoresque de Paris; ou Indication de tout ce qu'il y a de plus beau dans cette grande Ville en Peinture, Sculpture, & Architecture'', which appeared in Paris in 1749, a connoisseur's guide to the chief artistic and architectural monuments of Paris, with accounts of the leading academic and scientific organisations of the city. At least six further editions appeared before the Revolution (Paris, 1752, 1757, 1765, 1770, 1778, 1780). A ''Voyage pittoresque des environs de Paris, ou Description des Maisons Royales, Châteaux & autres Lieux de Plaisance, situés à quinze lieues aux environs de cette Ville '' by the same author appeared in Paris in 1755, a connoiseur's guide to the chief artistic and architectural monuments of the surroundings of Paris in which the author especially paid a tribute to the triumph of gardening. At least one further edition appeared before the Revolution (Paris, 1768, 3rd edition). Further works were ''Dénombrement de tous les fossiles de France'' and ''L'Oryctologie ou Traité des pierres, des minéraux et autres fossiles''. He compiled also the ''Vies des Fameux Architectes Depuis la renaissance des Arts'' in two volumes, 1787, of which the second was devoted to sculptors. An abridged edition (''Abrégé de la vie...'') was often reprinted. A facsimile was published in Geneva 1972. He also wrote a ''Dictionnaire du jardinage, relatif à la théorie. et à la pratique de cet art'' (Paris, 1771) and a ''Manuel du jardinier ou journal de son travail distribué par mois,'' (Paris, 1772).


References


Bibliography

* * D. Pullins, 'Dezallier d'Argenville's ''Recueils'' of Costume Prints Rediscovered', ''Print Quarterly'', Vol. XXXIII, No. 2 (June 2016): 147–155.


External links


''La Théorie et la pratique du jardinage'' (1709)
at Gallica
''La Théorie et la pratique du jardinage'' (1713)
at Gallica
''Abrégé de la vie des plus fameux peintres'' (1745–1752)
at Gallica {{DEFAULTSORT:Dezallier D'argenville, Antoine-Joseph Scientists from Paris Conchologists Contributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772) French garden writers French architecture writers French families Fellows of the Royal Society French writers in Latin