La création d’un nouveau décor sculpté dans les jardins de Vaux-Le-Vicomte à la fin du XIXe siècle

The creation of new sculpted decorations in the gardens of Vaux-le -Vicomte at the end of the 19th century The decoration of the gardens of the Vaux-le-Vicomte château, designed by Louis Le Nôtre, was left unfinished in 1661, year of the disgrace of the surintendant Nicolas Fouquet. Over the years, the elements of decoration were sold, mutilated or destroyed. In 1875 the estate was acquired by the industrialist Alfred Sommier who, as an enlightened amateur, set about restoring first the château and then, from the 1880s, the gardens. The architect responsible for the restoration of the gardens was Hippolyte Destailleur (1822-1893), accompanied by two gardeners, Flenri and Achille Duchêne. The new sculpted decoration created reveals the prevailing late 19th c. fashion for the art of the 17th and early 18th c., mingling themes associated with childhood and copies of classical sculptures or works inspired by models found at Versailles. Towards the end of the century, six sculptors were involved in the project, all of them trained by Jouffroy at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts , at Paris, or by such masters as Henri Chapu or Emmanuel Frémiet. In this way the perfect order of the Vaux gardens, dedicated to the glory of Fouquet, was changed into a very mixed collection of essentially decorative works in the most contemporary of styles.Garnier Bénédicte. La création d’un nouveau décor sculpté dans les jardins de Vaux-Le-Vicomte à la fin du XIXe siècle. In: Histoire de l'art, N°12, 1990. Nature, paysage. pp. 69-79