Bains d'Apollon à Versailles par François Girardon et Hubert Robert
the principles of French picturesque garden theory. I argue that the picturesque is not the product of an interaction between the two arts, but rather the product of a parallel development which is predicated on the recognition and appreciation of artifice in opposition to nature and shared by both art forms. The ramifications of picturesque garden theory are interpreted in the iconography of the Bains d'Apollon. When Hubert Robert was given the commission to create a new setting for Girardon's sculptures of Apollo Attended by the Nymphs of Thetis, the monument was designed to recall the earlier history of the Grotto of Thetis. Robert's artificial rocher exploited the myth of Mount Parnassus: Louis XVI, like his great grandfather, would bring the arts and sciences to Versailles. However, the contrived naturalism of the Bains d'Apollon stressed man's harmony with nature thus mitigating the allegorical message and its potential political power.
Bains d'Apollon à Versailles par François Girardon et Hubert Robert
the principles of French picturesque garden theory. I argue that the picturesque is not the product of an interaction between the two arts, but rather the product of a parallel development which is predicated on the recognition and appreciation of artifice in opposition to nature and shared by both art forms. The ramifications of picturesque garden theory are interpreted in the iconography of the Bains d'Apollon. When Hubert Robert was given the commission to create a new setting for Girardon's sculptures of Apollo Attended by the Nymphs of Thetis, the monument was designed to recall the earlier history of the Grotto of Thetis. Robert's artificial rocher exploited the myth of Mount Parnassus: Louis XVI, like his great grandfather, would bring the arts and sciences to Versailles. However, the contrived naturalism of the Bains d'Apollon stressed man's harmony with nature thus mitigating the allegorical message and its potential political power.