Europe in Paris in Département de Paris, Île-de-France, France — Western Europe

Parc Monceau (1861)

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, March 24, 2024

1. Parc Monceau (1861) Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Au détour des allées sinueuses, des arbres remarquables forment un écrin à nombre d'œuvres qui témoignent de la richesse historique de ce parc. Le platane d'Orient (planté en 1814) et l'érable sycomore (1853) s'affichent aux côtés de micocoulier de Provence, pin laricio, févriers d'Amérique, arbre de Judée, ou encore tulipier de Virginie.

Le site de Mousseau est acquis par le duc de Chartres (1747-1793) en 1769. Son pavillon, dit Folie de Chartres, est élevé au centre d'un jardin à la française, puis de style anglo-chinois dès 1773. De petits temples antiques et gothiques réalisés par l'architecte paysagiste Carmontelle (1717-1806) en témoignent. Le jardin est amputé en 1787 lors de la construction du mur des Fermiers généraux. La barrière de Chartres, rotonde actuelle, en est un des vestiges. Adolphe Alphand (1817-1891), ingénieur des ponts et chaussées, aménage définitivement le jardin à l'anglaise, au Second Empire. Prisé par les artistes, le parc s'enrichit d'une statuaire dédiée aux écrivains et aux musiciens.

(English translation:)
At the bend of the winding paths, remarkable trees form a setting for a number of works which bear witness to the historical richness of this park. The oriental plane tree (planted in 1814) and the maple sycamore (1853) are displayed alongside Provence

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hackberry, laricio pine, American february, Judas tree, and even Virginia tulip tree.

The Mousseau site was acquired by the Duke of Chartres (1747-1793) in 1769. Its pavilion, called “Folie of Chartres”, was raised in the center of a garden in the French, then Anglo-Chinese style from 1773. Small ancient and Gothic temples made by the landscape architect Carmontelle (1717-1806) bear witness to this. The garden was cut off in 1787 during the construction of the mur des Fermiers généraux (a tax-barrier wall of sorts). The Chartres barrier (i.e., toll-house), today the rotunda, is one of its vestiges. Adolphe Alphand (1817-1891), bridge and road engineer, permanently landscaped the English garden, during the Second Empire. Popular with artists, the park is enriched with statuary dedicated to writers and to musicians.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Parks & Recreational Areas. In addition, it is included in the Parks and Squares of Paris series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1769.

Location. 48° 52.821′ N, 2° 18.561′ E. Marker is in Paris, Île-de-France, in Département de Paris. It is in Europe. Marker is on Place de la République Dominicaine. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 Pl de la République Dominicaine, Paris, Île-de-France 75008, France. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. La Première Descente en Parachute / The First Descent by Parachute (about 210 meters away, measured in a direct line); Jacques Rouché (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Auguste Chapuis (approx. 0.3 kilometers

Parc Monceau (1861) Marker - wide view image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, March 24, 2024

2. Parc Monceau (1861) Marker - wide view

The marker is visible here (barely) just to the left of the gate which is on the left of the rotunda.

away); Ernest Chausson (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Fers / Irons (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Marcel Pagnol (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); La Mulâtresse Solitude (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Louis Armand (approx. 0.3 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Paris.

Also see . . . Parc Monceau (Wikipedia).

Excerpt: The park was established by Phillippe d'Orléans, Duke of Chartres, a cousin of King Louis XVI, fabulously wealthy, and active in court politics and society. In 1769 he had begun purchasing the land where the park is located. In 1778, he decided to create a public park, and employed the writer and painter Louis Carrogis Carmontelle to design the gardens.

The Duke was a close friend of the Prince of Wales, later George IV, and a lover of all things English. His intention was to create what was then called an Anglo-Chinese or English garden, on the earlier model of Stowe House in England (1730–1738), with its examples of the architectural folly, or fantastic reconstructions of buildings of different ages and continents. It was similar in style to several other examples of the French landscape garden built at about the same time, including the Desert de Retz, the gardens of the Château de Bagatelle and the Folie Saint James.

Carmontelle employed a German landscape architect named Etickhausen and the architect of the
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, March 24, 2024

3. Parc Monceau - bust of writer Guy de Maupassant
Duke, Bernard Poyet, to build the follies. The intention of the garden was to surprise and amaze visitors. This goal was clearly stated by Carmontelle: "It is not necessary for gardens or nature to be presented in the most agreeable forms. It's necessary instead to preserve the charm that one encounters entering the garden, and to renew it with each step, so that the visitor in his soul will have the desire to revisit the garden every day and to possess it for himself. The true art is to know how to keep the visitors there, through a variety of objects, otherwise they will go to the real countryside to find what should be found in this garden; the image of liberty."

(Submitted on May 11, 2024.)

Parc Monceau - folly - the Egyptian pyramid (1778) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, March 24, 2024

4. Parc Monceau - folly - the Egyptian pyramid (1778)

Parc Monceau with colonnade image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Levy, circa 1908

5. Parc Monceau with colonnade

Parc Monceau -<i> sous les ombrages</i> (“in the shade”) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Aqua Vue, Paris, circa 1912

6. Parc Monceau - sous les ombrages (“in the shade”)

Parc Monceau - water feature with colonnade in background image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, March 24, 2024

7. Parc Monceau - water feature with colonnade in background

Credits. This page was last revised on May 13, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 11, 2024, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 57 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on May 11, 2024, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.