A Terraced Garden by a Villa 1815 - 1821

Friedrich Salathé sketched this terraced garden by a villa with graphite on paper sometime in the early 19th century. The villa, partially obscured by trees, suggests a cultivated space, while the wilder garden evokes a sense of nature's untamed beauty. Throughout art history, gardens have symbolized both paradise and earthly delight. Echoes of the Garden of Eden resonate, where nature thrives in harmony. But we also see the manicured gardens of Versailles, symbols of human control and order. In Salathé’s sketch, these ideas coexist. The garden, as a liminal space between the wild and the domestic, can be seen in myriad forms, from the enclosed hortus conclusus of medieval tapestries to the sweeping landscapes of Chinese paintings. This tension speaks to our subconscious desire to reconcile the natural world with our own constructed realities, forever seeking balance.