Baroque Garden (III.1)

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(4) Palace of Versailles, with emphasis on its gardens

Note:
(a) (Modern) French-English dictionary:
* ses (determiner): "his, her, its, their, one's"
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ses
* promenade (noun feminine; plural promenades); from [verb] promener [to walk] +‎ [suffix] -ade [used to form nouns denoting action]): "walk, stroll [and a place to walk on for pleasure]"  (English noun of the same spelling is borrowed from this French word.)
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/promenade
* bras (noun masculine): "arm"
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bras
* orangerie (noun feminine; from [noun feminine] orange + [suffix] -erie): "orangery"
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/orangerie
   ^ English noun orange
   ^ English dictionary: orangery (n): "a protected place and especially a greenhouse for growing oranges in cool climates"  (In United States, oranges grow in Florida and California.)
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/orangery
* cie (abbreviation of noun feminine compagnie company)  (This French word and English noun company share the same Old French root compaignie (meaning companionship; with an additional i from the Modern French spelling).
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cie


(b) The garden façade of Palace of Versailles faces due west, via the long axis of the cross that is the reflecting pool -- providing a splendid view at sunset.

By comparison, National Mall reflecting pool in Washington DC) runs east-west axis also, with water supply from Tidal Basin (see Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Restoration. Trust for National Mall, undated
https://nationalmall.org/content ... he-mall-kf8j2-kr7kg
("In 2012, the Reflecting Pool was completely rebuilt with sustainable water conservation features. These features include a new water supply system, with water being drawn from the Tidal Basin, and is treated with an ozone water filtration system")
) and discharge outflow into Potomac River.


(c) maps
(i) The 1920 "Versailles et Ses Promenades" is hard to read (with width 8.5 inches; it was designed as a wall map with width 16 inches or more; in French, the top is west) and does not include "Parterre d'Eau."  (I have seen both Parterre d'Eau and Parterre d'eau in reputable French sources.) Note "Bras de Trianon," an arm of the cross.

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(ii) The following map from Paris Digest details the part of garden right in front of chateau façade (in French; west is to the right; Parterre d'Eau is 1 ib the map):

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(d)
(i) Gardens and Fountains. Palace of Versailles, undated
https://en.chateauversailles.fr/gardens-and-fountains
("A garden in the French style for the Sun King[:] Starting in 1661, Louis XIV embarked on the vast project of creating his estate of Versailles. Work on the gardens developed in parallel to the transformation and enlargement of the Palace, over a period of more than forty years. The Sun King was closely involved in the creation of his gardens and followed the plans of his gardener, André Le Nôtre. The latter, in charge of a colossal site, tamed the surrounding woods and marshes, and levelled the land to transform Louis XIII's small garden into an immense garden in the French manner. In this style, which was highly prized in the seventeenth century and derived from the fashion for Italian gardens, the omnipresence of symmetry and order illustrates the domestication of nature by man")
(ii) The Gardens: The Art of Perspective.
https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/gardens

Please read the entire page.


(e) partetre
(i) The French masculine parterre, from preposition par on + terre), literally means "on the ground" and denoting a scene to be beholden from above (on a balcony or terrace, for instance).
(ii) parterre (theater audience)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parterre_(theater_audience)
("The word parterre comes from the French par and terre and literally translated means 'on the ground.'[1] The main meaning of the word is the front section of a formal garden, but by the mid-17th century, it was also used to refer both to the ground level of a theatre where spectators stood to watch performances and to the group of spectators who occupied that space.   Although the word parterre originated in France, historians use the term interchangeably with its English equivalent, 'the pit,' to designate the same part of the audience in England, present-day Italy, and Austria.[2] * * * historians agree that cheaper parterre tickets drew a proportionately higher number of [低端人口: Beijing government would say] to the pit")
(A) In this Wiki page, a painting tn the left margin with the caption "18th-century watercolour of the Salle Richelieu in Paris" shows where people stood: in the front of the ground level around instrument players.
(B) orchestra pit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestra_pit
(iii) parterre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parterre
"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 part of the garden nearest the house, perhaps after a terrace.[1] The view of a parterre from inside the house, especially from the upper floors, was a major consideration in its design")

The "paths" in the quotation is "allées" (plural of allée; to be introduced later in this posting) in French.

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(f) Partetre d'Eau
(i) Parterre d'Eau (Water Parterre), Versailles. Las Vegas, Nevada: GPSmyCity Inc (app for self-guided walking tours in various cities), undated
https://www.gpsmycity.com/attractions/parterre-deau-(water-parterre)-37388.html

the last five paragraphs (omitting the first paragraph):

"The Parterre is a terrace between the Chateau and the gardens. It has two huge rectangular ponds – hence its name. Planning to lay it out started in 1672 and in 1674 Louis 14th ordered 24 statues to grace the terrace. The commission was known as the Grande Commande.

"These statues were executed by various master sculptors and comprised the Four Seasons, the Four Continents, the Four Elements, the Four Humors of Man, the Four Poems and the Four Hours of the Day. Several other statues representing figures from mythology were also commissioned.

"The two ponds are decorated with figures in bronze representing rivers and their important tributaries.  

"The Seine and the Marne were created by Le Hongre, the Garonne and the Dordogne by Coysevox, the Loire and the Loiret by Regnaudin and the Rhône and the Saône were by Tuby.   

"The water nymphs and groups of children were by Le Gros, Van Clève, Poultier and Lespingola.

(A) Loire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loire
("is the longest river in France * * * With a length of 1,006 kilometres (625 mi)")

English pronunciation:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Loire
(B) Saône
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa%C3%B4ne
(table: Length  473 km (294 mi)"is a right tributary of the Rhône * * * and joining the Rhône in Lyon". section 1 Terminology: goodness -- hence "La Saône" in French)
English pronunciations for Lyon vary, depending whether it is a surname or the French City.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Lyon

The Scottish, English and French Lyon is "from the personal name Middle English Lyon, Old French Leon, from Latin [noun masculine] leo lion, and from Ancient Greek romanized as leōn.
(ii)
(A) Versailles: Palace Gardens: Parterre d'Eau, with the bronze allegorical statues of the rivers of France. University of Notre Dame, undated (under the heading "Architectural Lantern Slides of France")
https://marble.nd.edu/item/gb19f477t5c
("Circa 1910 * * *
This sculpture is by Tuby and represents the Rhone.   
In 1661, when Louis XIV began to enlarge the château of Versailles, the surrounding grounds were in a rudimentary state. The King acquired further land (at the end of his reign the estate extended over 2473 ha, now reduced to 815 ha) and had gardens designed and laid out by André Le Nôtre which would harmonize with Le Vau's new building. Louis paid the greatest attention to the design of the gardens, visiting them daily whenever at Versailles. The grounds still retain the general structure of Le Nôtre's layout: a principal east-west axis flanked by parallel secondary axes north and south, and intersected by four north-south avenues. In the grid squares thus defined, Le Nôtre, succeeded by Jules Hardouin Mansart, installed groves (bosquets) and fountains. The east-west axis ran from the terrace of the château via the Parterre d'Eau, with the bronze allegorical statues of the rivers of France, the Latone steps, the Parterre de Latone and the Tapis Vert walk, to the Bassin du Char d'Apollon at the beginning of the 1560 m Grand Canal (1667-1690). On the south side, the gardens terminated with the Pièce d'Eau des Suisses (1679-1684), which extended the Parterre de l'Orangerie towards the château, and the Orangery built 1684-1686 by Hardouin Mansart under the Parterre du Midi")

University of Notre Dame is WRONG: This sculpture is Loire. Sculpture of Rhône is below:

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(B) G Massiot & cie, Architectural Lantern Slides. Architecture Library, University of Notre Dame, undated
https://curate.nd.edu/articles/e ... _Slides_b_/25325761
("The University of Notre Dame’s Architecture Library holds a set of about 4,500 “lantern slides” produced by the French company G. Massiot & cie. The collection is undated, but the photographs appear to have been taken between approximately 1870 and 1914, primarily between 1890 and 1910. Lantern slides were most popular, and often sold as pedagogical sets, in the early decades of the 20th century.   European architecture, with approximately 2,900 of the photographs, is the primary focus of the collection. Most come from France (~1,000) and Italy (~800); other countries are represented, but in significantly lower numbers. Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas combined are pictured in fewer than 500 slides. * * * the lantern slides present an historical look at the sites")


French words orangerie and cie are defined in (a).
(iii) orangerie
(A) Versailles Orangerie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versailles_Orangerie
("In the winter, the Versailles Orangerie houses more than a thousand trees in boxes [planters 花盆]. * * * In 1689 gardener Valentin Lopin created a device to transport and move the large orange trees. * * * From May to October, they are put outdoors in the 'Parterre Bas.' * * * By the 15th century, sweet oranges (Citrus × sinensis) had become well-established and had assumed commercial importance in Europe. * * * There is general agreement that the arrival of the sweet orange in Europe was linked with the activities of the Portuguese during the 15th century, and particularly by Vasco de Gama's voyages to the East. * * * By withholding water and nutrients, and by using pruning techniques, French gardeners were able to make citrus trees bloom throughout the year, to the delight of Louis XIV. * * * Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie['s] writings detailed a system for protecting exotic plants from the cold without the use of artificial heating.[13]   As Louis XIV grew older he became allergic to flowers and preferred the smell of the citrus trees, developing a love for orange trees.[14] He had them potted in solid silver tubs and placed throughout the state rooms of the Palace to perfume the air.[15] The Orangerie was intended to supply the palace with specimens and supply the Court with fruit year-round [To the left of this last paragraph is a photo with the caption of 'Potted trees']")
(B) The Orangerie. Palace of Versailles, undated
https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/gardens/orangery
(The Orangery building "is in an excellent position, facing directly south and sheltered from prevailing cold winds by its position below the South Parterre. * * * [under Jules Hardouin-Mansart,] The central gallery is more than 150 metres long with a 13-metre-high vaulted ceiling. * * * The 4-5-metre-thick walls, double windows and south-facing position enable it to maintain a temperature in winter that is no lower than 5°C.   To stock the Orangery, Louis XIV gathered all the orange trees from the royal houses and acquired a large number of new trees from Italy, Spain and Portugal. * * *  the Versailles orangery was soon able to boast the largest collection in Europe")