On the occasion of the four hundredth anniversary of the birth of André Le Nôtre (1613 - 1700), I have taken another look at his master work. Working with mineral and plant architecture, Le Nôtre created multifaceted gardens that are both majestic and playful. He surprises us with follies and fountains set in contrast to strictly symmetrical wooded masses; he plays on light and shadow in his whimsical and symmetrical groves, dotting parterres and main walkways with statues and yew cut in the most amazing ways.

 

The Tuileries Gardens, with its crowds of pressed tourists drawn by the dramatic perspective from the Louvre up the Champs-Elysées, leaves strollers the opportunity to discover smaller gardens within the garden.

 

Parc de Sceaux, where André Le Nôtre played with the landscape using a double perspective : the first extending from the axis of the château, the second set on a perpendicular axis from the château, revealing a large waterfall extending through to the Basin of the Octagon.

 

Versailles, the result of matured reflection in garden architecture, is a masterpiece in the art of topiary.

 

Photographing these individual spaces like the pieces of a puzzle, I wished to form a notion of the Whole through the assimilation of individual details. Working spontaneously, I visited the garden frequently and photographed a variety of subjects. The choice to work in black and white was made to better reveal the geometry and rhythm that nature and humans have brought to these places.