Gezicht op de Jardin des Tuileries te Parijs c. 1865 - 1875

This photograph by Compagnie Photographique Debitte & Hervé captures a view of the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris, immortalizing the garden's symmetrical arrangements. Note the centrality of water. This pool, crowned with sculpture, is a motif which descends from ancient traditions where water features were believed to possess purifying, life-giving, and transformative powers. One can find echoes in the reflecting pools of Versailles and, further back, in the sacred pools of ancient Greece. Water is often associated with the subconscious, a deep well of emotions and memories that influence our perceptions and behaviors. It is no accident that our ancestors placed such powerful symbolism into fountains. The formal gardens evoke the human desire to impose order on the natural world. Yet, the persistent return of natural elements in the form of foliage reminds us of the cyclical and non-linear nature of time, and how nature always finds a way of returning.