Romantic Gardens

This is a meticulous survey that reveals the origins of gardens and their place in the movement that dominated Europe and America from 1700 to 1900. The opposite of Classicism, with it regard for order and rules, Romanticism gave primacy to the imagination, to the senses, to intuition and inspiration, putting a premium on the spectacular, the mysterious, and the dramatic. Romantic gardens were a source of sensory delight, moral instruction, spiritual insight, and artistic inspiration. Rustic structures, monuments, sweeping vistas, and naturalistic lakes were elements in an ever-changing panorama. Nature, and by extension, gardens, were expected to stir the imagination. In this book, with its ample introductory essay on the nature of Romanticism, the authors demonstrate through drawings, designs, watercolours, and engravings, a narrative of the course of Romanticism. Here, beautifully illustrated and described in detail, are the books, essays, prints, and manuscripts that served as core documents of the Romantic Movement.