From 5 May to 27 September 2026, the Palace of Versailles is hosting an exhibition focusing on the early days of the English-style garden (landscape garden, pleasure garden or picturesque garden). This exhibition, featuring 160 works, will take place at the Grand Trianon.
Presented at the Grand Trianon from May 5 to September 27, 2026, the exhibition Gardens of Enlightenment, 1700–1800 explores the emergence of the landscape garden in 18th-century England. From the 1730s onward, a new way of designing gardens appeared, breaking away from the geometric style of French formal gardens. Garden designers and architects created winding, natural-looking landscapes made up of hills, water features, caves, and decorative structures, forming miniature worlds.
These “English” or “Anglo-Chinese” gardens drew inspiration from many cultures, from Antiquity to the East, blending European references with distant influences. They reflect a vision of the garden as a space of discovery, travel, and imagination, supported by a rich variety of objects, drawings, and plans.
The exhibition also shows how these gardens express Enlightenment ideas and a new relationship with nature. Influenced by Rousseau, this vision values walking, contemplation, and reflection. The landscape becomes a form of language, both an emotional and intellectual space, extending even into interior design, as illustrated by works by Hubert Robert.
These “English” or “Anglo-Chinese” gardens drew inspiration from many cultures, from Antiquity to the East, blending European references with distant influences. They reflect a vision of the garden as a space of discovery, travel, and imagination, supported by a rich variety of objects, drawings, and plans.
The exhibition also shows how these gardens express Enlightenment ideas and a new relationship with nature. Influenced by Rousseau, this vision values walking, contemplation, and reflection. The landscape becomes a form of language, both an emotional and intellectual space, extending even into interior design, as illustrated by works by Hubert Robert.
