Parterre van de tuin van Mont-Louis 1670 - 1680

André Le Nôtre created this print of a parterre, or formal garden, intended for Mont-Louis in France. The design reveals much about the cultural politics of the time. In 17th-century France, landscape design wasn't just about aesthetics. Royal gardens like those at Mont-Louis and Versailles were expressions of power. The rigid geometric patterns seen here, meticulously planned and executed, reflected the monarch's control over nature, and by extension, society. The gardens were also spaces for elaborate courtly rituals and displays of wealth, reinforcing social hierarchies. To understand this image fully, we need to look at the history of landscape architecture, the social structure of the French court, and the political ambitions of Louis XIV. By examining archival documents, architectural treatises, and social histories, we can uncover the complex ways in which gardens like this were used to shape and maintain power. Art like this is never just about aesthetics. It's about power, control, and the social order.