HomeRuins in the garden
Ruins in the garden
Des ruines au jardin
Published on Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Abstract
Issue 46 of the Cahiers de Mariemont undertakes to explore the various ways in which ruins, real or fake, have been incorporated into the art of gardening. This volume therefore calls on historians, art historians, archaeologists, architects, town planners, botanists, gardeners and other garden design specialists to identify the common features and major developments in the practice of integrating and enhancing the value of ruins into European gardens over the centuries.
Announcement
Argument
In gardens, man has always sought to make nature, in its most subtle forms, coexist with the most refined artefacts[1]. Among the latter, monumental traces of the past, the materiality of their obsolescence and destruction, and the fragile balance they represent between memory and oblivion, have always aroused interest and fascination[2]. Once seen as a testimony to the past that should be preserved and enhanced, a collapsed or incomplete building, that can no longer fulfil its original purpose, can take on other symbolic or ornamental functions in the garden. In Mariemont, for example, the wealthy entrepreneur and philanthropist Raoul Warocqué had the remains of the palace of Charles de Lorraine (1712-1780) incorporated into the English-style landscaped park surrounding his residence in 1893, combining the romantic staging of the ruin with the enhancement of an archaeological reality[3]. Today, there are other practices. At the Grand archaeological garden in Lorraine and the Saint-Acheul archaeological garden in the Somme department, for example, the art of gardening is used to make the archaeological fact, whether monumental or not, clearer and more accessible. The ruins are no longer just another ornament. These ‘archaeological gardens’ are designed as natural sites planted with trees, in which the ruins are the subject.
The Cahiers de Mariemont therefore calls on historians, art historians, archaeologists, architects, town planners, botanists, gardeners and other garden design specialists to identify the common features and major developments in the practice of integrating ruins into European gardens over the centuries. The aim will also be to identify the current issues and strategies for managing and promoting this practice. More than being specific case studies, the articles will focus on diachronic, thematic (types of archaeological fact, public, environment, climate, etc.) or territorial analysis and perspective.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of avenues to explore:
- The appropriation of ruins, whether real or fake, was apparent very early on in the art of gardening. After the rise of follies in the last quarter of the 18th century, what role did ruins play in landscaping trends and styles from the 19th century to the present day? Can any regional or European trends be discerned?
- What were the aims of the owners or sponsors who incorporated ruins into their gardens? What did they want the ruins to show and visitors understand with this practice? Today, a concept of ‘archaeological garden’ seems to have developed in France. What does it cover?
- What has been the role of the aristocracy, the bourgeoisie and other public or private players in preserving (or not) historic ruins in their gardens? What was the impact of legislation, public policy and the classification process on this preservation?
- Ruins are a timeless object of fascination. Many artists still draw inspiration from them today. How do they reinterpret this type of landscape? What leeway do artists allow themselves in relation to reality in their representations? What contribution has the study of artistic representations of ruins made to archaeology?
- The garden changes over time, and these changes require adaptation. How have the ruins been maintained, restored or reused (for new purposes) over time? What changes have been made to the methods and techniques used to protect and enhance the site, and to promote it?
- How were the gardens around the ruins designed, and what codes and types of plants or artefacts were used? Is there a ‘right’ way to combine vegetation and archaeological remains in gardens? What influence has climate change and growing ecological awareness had on the design of these gardens? How have these practices evolved over time? What does this evolution say about the perception of ruins and gardens?
- In the context of restoration work, what approaches have been used to reconstitute, recompose or restore ruins in gardens? And what resources were used: documentary (archives, iconography, etc.), archaeological (surveys, excavations, etc.), artistic (literature, painting, etc.)?
- What role do landscape architects and gardeners play in integrating ruins into gardens? What scope for creativity is left to them in a setting constrained by the demands of archaeology?
- The question of funding for the preservation of ruins in gardens should also be addressed. For example, what role did the private sector play in the landscaping of archaeological remains in the 19th and 20th centuries?
- The integration and enhancement of ruins in gardens can play a part in promoting local tourism, with a role that extends beyond the boundaries of the garden itself. Staged, enhanced and even explained, the ruin links us to the past and anchors the present in local history[4]. How can the ruin's appearance be seen as a way of telling or promoting a sometimes complex story to which the visitor/promoter is invited? What is the visitor's experience of a garden with ruins or an archaeological garden?
- What role do ruins play in park and garden management plans? What are the objectives and results of these tools in terms of preserving and enhancing remains?
- Etc.
Submission guidelines
Proposals for contributions, in French or English (including an abstract of 2,000 to 3,000 characters including spaces, with a provisional title, a short bibliography on the subject, and a biography of 2 or 3 lines) should be sent to the editor of the Cahiers de Mariemont, Jean-Sébastien Balzat (jean-sebastien.balzat@musee-mariemont.be)
before 15 October 2023.
The text of the article as well as an abstract (French and English) and 10 key words (French and English) are expected by 15 March 2024.
Editors
- Dr Marie Demelenne, Curator of the Domain and Regional Archaeology Section, Royal Museum of Mariemont
- Dr Jean-Sébastien Balzat, scientific editor of the Cahiers de Mariemont, Royal Museum of Mariemont
- Fantine Lequeux, editorial assistant, Royal Museum of Mariemont
The Cahiers de Mariemont
Established in 1970, the Cahiers de Mariemont is the annual journal of the Royal Museum of Mariemont (Belgium). The journal is peer-reviewed. It aims at promoting the study of the Museum’s rich collections, and also publishes articles, mainly in French and English, about a wide range of subjects from various disciplines including Ancient Mediterranean art and archaeology, extra-European arts, Belgium’s regional archaeology and history, rare books, decorative art, and museology. Its dossiers deal with current research themes in both transversal and cross-disciplinary perspectives.
For more information, please check the Museum website athttp://www.musee-mariemont.be/index.php?id=1128. Issues 1 to 41 is available on the open access academic platform Persée (https://www.persee.fr).
Issues 1 to 41 is available on the open access academic platform Persée (https://www.persee.fr).
Latest volumes:
44 (2023): The Multiple in art
Reflections on this artistic practice that goes beyond the book medium (photography, xerography, body art or digital art)
43 (2022) : Replicating Art
Overview of museum concepts and practices regarding the replication of heritage works
42 (2021) : Raoul Warocqué dévoilé
History of the collections of the founder of the Mariemont Museum
41 (2020) : Alexandrie
Publication of the results of the excavations at the site of Smouha (Egypt)
Forthcoming :
45 (2023) : Museum Libraries
References
[1] M. Mosser et G. Teyssot, L’architecture du jardin et l’architecture dans le jardin, Histoire des jardins de la Renaissance à nos jours, Paris, 1991, p. 8.
[2] A. Schnapp, Une histoire universelle des ruines. Des origines aux Lumières, Paris, 2020.
[3] M. Dosogne et M. Demelenne, « Restaurer Mariemont. De Charles de Lorraine à Raoul Warocqué », Cahiers de Mariemont, vol. 43, 2022, p. 11-45.
[4] Martine Bouchier, « Le Moment politique des ruines », Frontières, vol. 28, n°1, 2016. https://doi.org/10.7202/1038865ar
Subjects
- Europe (Main category)
- Mind and language > Representation > History of art
- Mind and language > Representation > Heritage
- Periods > Modern
- Mind and language > Representation > Architecture
- Mind and language > Epistemology and methodology > Archaeology
- Society > Geography > Nature, landscape and environment
Date(s)
- Sunday, October 15, 2023
Attached files
Keywords
- ruine, jardin, parc, archéologie, valorisation, préservation, restauration, représentation, art du jardin, jardin archéologique
Contact(s)
- Jean-Sébastien Balzat
courriel : jean-sebastien [dot] balzat [at] musee-mariemont [dot] be - Fantine Lequeux
courriel : fantine [dot] lequeux [at] musee-mariemont [dot] be - Marie Demelenne
courriel : marie [dot] demelenne [at] musee-mariemont [dot] be
Reference Urls
Information source
- Fantine Lequeux
courriel : fantine [dot] lequeux [at] musee-mariemont [dot] be
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Ruins in the garden », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, June 28, 2023, https://doi.org/10.58079/1bhs
