Rodama: a blog of 18th-century & Revolutionary France: The Châteaux of King Stanislas

The Park of Duke Leopold

At Lunéville, Stanislas also inherited the Park of "Les Bosquets" to the rear of the palace, which he embellished and ultimately extended to cover some 30 hectares. The landscaping work under Leopold had been directed between 1711 and 1719 by Yves des Hours, a disciple of Le Nôtre, who set out a jardin à la française of classical design. The remains of the ancient town fortifications were used to provide the axis for the main terrace, with a series of formal parterres flanked by wooded walkways ("les bosquets"). The waters of the River Vezouze fed a new Grand Canal overlooked by three grassed and sloping paths. In 1724 Louis Gervais, future architect of the park at Schönbrunn, took over from Des Hours, bringing with him elements of more innovative, characteristically Rococo garden design (see Refs).

An ambitious hydraulic system had been put in place from 1710 by the engineer Didier Lalance. The Grand Canal formed the northern boundary of the Park whilst, to the east, a feeder canal channelled further water from a reservoir in the bois de Mondon, ten kilometres away. In 1731 a hydraulic machine or "tower" (designed by by PhilippeVaryinge (1684-1746) and built by Jacques Richard "fontainier du duc") was installed on the level of the grand canal, capable of elevating five jets of water to a height of sixty feet.

Under Stanislas the original layout of the formal gardens was retained with additional planting, fountains, water features and, in particular, further statuary. (Pierre Boyé comments: "A nature which was already constrained was tormented more."[Boyé (1910), p. 65]). The marshland which still surrounded the Grand Canal was reclaimed and and the Park extended to the north and east. It was in these peripheral areas that Stanislas was able to show his originality by siting splendid new garden structures.

What remains?

The restoration of the modern park, which is still ongoing, aims to reproduce the formal parterres and surrounding "bosquets" as they appeared during the reign of Duke Leopold, the time when the gardens are best documented.

Of the many sculptures which originally adorned the vista, only six remain in situ. The group of four by Barthélémy Guibal on the parterres (Apollo, Diane, Night, Flora) date from the 1720s, whilst the Minerva and Hercules by Nicolas Renard on the terrace are slightly later.

Plan of the modern gardens [Reproduced from the Patrimoine de Lorraine website]

Other statuary, sold off in 1766, survives in scattered locations. A series of lead figures by Guibal, now known to have been commissioned by Stanislas for the central Arion Fountain, are to be found in the gardens of Schwetzingen Palace in Bavaria, having been acquired for the Elector Palatine Karl Theodor by the Lunéville architect Nicolas de Pigage. In 1992 the originals were replaced by bronze copies to avoid further corrosion. In 2021 some of the pieces were returned temporarily to Lunéville for the exhibition "La sculpture en son château" and the opportunity taken to create state-of-the-art 3-D scans. According to the website of the Association Lunéville: Château des Lumières the ultimate aim is to cast bronze replicas for the Park. The cost is an estimated 100, 000€, but the project is not unrealistic since a major renovation of the grand basin is already scheduled.

The Arion Fountain at Schwetzingen (Wikimedia)

References

Pierre Boyé, "Les châteaux du roi Stanislas: Lunéville", Revue Lorraine illustrée, Vol. 2 (1907): p. 25-40 ( p.31ff.)

https://archive.org/details/revuelorraineill02unse/page/n43/mode/2up?view=theater

Base Mérimée:

Jardin du château Stanislas dit "Les Bosquets", actuellement parc public

https://pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/merimee/IA54002213

Ensemble hydraulique : rivière aménagée ; bassin ; canal ; canal de jardin ; machine élévatrice des eaux

https://pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/merimee/IA54002217

Entry for Lunéville on the Statues - Hither and Thither

https://www.vanderkrogt.net/statues/object.php?webpage=ST&record=frlo076

On the Park of Duke Leopold:

Cécile Travers, "Un grand chantier d’aménagement urbain et paysager au début du xviiie siècle. Archéologie et histoire du jardin du château de Lunéville", Archéopages, No.37 (2014), p.40-51.[Open Edition Journals]

https://journals.openedition.org/archeopages/349?lang=en

Thierry Franz and Audrey Fischer, "Louis Gervais, un paysagiste lorrain dans l’Europe des Lumières" Lecture given at the Château de Lunéville, 4th November 2022 (in the series Les Vendredis du Musée).

https://youtu.be/A98SJaaz2Rc?si=YIdu69nOyl_pEU5c

The Park today:
Guillaume Duhamel, Julien Laborde and Agnès Nicolas "Une démarche expérimentale de l’élaboration du plan de gestion du Parc des Bosquets de Lunéville" YouTube, 29.11.2023. [Detailed presentation of the modern restoration of the gardens given as part of an ÉNSA Versailles study day, November 2023]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3ZiJZgKifY

Volumegraphics - Arion Fountain virtual recreation project.
https://volumegraphics.hexagon.com/en/explore-nde/our-stories/past-present-and-future-recreating-history-in-luneville.html

Stanislas's early garden structures

The Recueil of Emmanuel Héré (and, following it, the Base Mérimée) presents an initial assemblage of five garden structures: Salon de la Pêcherie, Comédie Champêtre, Pavillon de la Cascade, Kiosque, Trèfle.

The earliest projects were situated in the first of Stanislas's extensions to the Park, what became known as the "Petits Bosquets", an area to the south which incorporated the former private parterres of the Duke and Duchess and the garden of the prince de Craon (along the modern rue de Lorraine). Here he had constructed a pleasure pavilion, the Kiosque in 1738, and in 1739 the Comédie Champêtre, an open-air theatre, surrounded by greenery, with seating cut into the grass. About the latter little is known, though the design clearly echoed the "théâtre d'eau" at Versailles. It is thought that the scenery was moved by a hydraulic system. Since the site was directly opposite Stanislas's private apartments and close to the existing theatre, it seems likely that the intention was to provide a venue for court entertainments.

The celebrations for the marriage of Louise-Élisabeth of France and Don Philip of Spain at Lunéville on 26th August 1739 brought a first opportunity for the nobility of Lorraine to admire Stanislas's building work. A spectacle in the open-air theatre was followed by a dinner for two hundred at the Kiosque. The orchestra then took its place in the exterior tribune and the guests danced until morning. The dazzling light from 50,000 lampions was reflected in the basins and fountains and the theatre in particular seemed to rise up from the water itself (Boyé, p.68-69).

Also in 1739, building began on a second pavilion, the Trèfle , situated in Stanislas's second new garden, the Bas Bosquets or Nouveaux Bosquets at the extremity of the northern branch of the canal.

The Salon de la Pêcherie (or "de la Pêche") was a circular building with two wings, sited at the corner of the Grand Canal. It served as both a point of embarkation, a place for fishing and a music salon. The final building was the Pavillon de la Cascade, constructed on the opposite bank of the canal in 1743. Elevated on a base of rocks, this imposing structure was approached via three levels of staircase decorated with statues and framing cascades.

Additional notes on the pavilions:

The Kiosque (no.2 on the plan)

The Kiosque, Stanislas's earliest original creation, was usually characterised as a "maison Turcque", though his exact source of inspiration remains uncertain. It comprised a two-storey square pavilion, twelve metres by twelve metres, with a rectangular extension to the rear. The striking pointed roof and broken roof-line gave it the appearance of a Chinese pagoda. The main space was a large airy open salon, with five large arched windows ranged on three of the four sides. In summer, when it was hot, the glass was replaced by finely-woven cane. The first floor housed an open-air belvedere for musicians. In the adjoining building the ground floor consisted of an open gallery, supported by eight Tuscan columns, and abutting the walls of the Park to the south. Frescoes decorated the walls and at the centre of the back wall was grotto from which water could be heard to cascade. The first floor accommodated a Turkish bath and a small private cabinet where the king often spent the night in summer.

Although the exterior, built of varnished pine, was comparatively simple the interior of the pavilion was richly decorated, with stucco, gilding and ceramic tiles. A "flying table" rose up from the floor and there are descriptions of an elaborate porcelain surtout with jets of water crossing over one another. On the consoles little hydraulic shepherds played the flute and bagpipes. Two gilded buffets imitated a tangle of marine plants and animals, whilst in the niche between them could be glimpsed the cascade on under the gallery, its statues and vases.

Illustrations from Héré's Recueil

Sadly, the Kiosque was accidently set alight by a firework and completely destroyed during on night of 11th July 1762 during preparations for a visit by Stanislas's granddaughters Mesdames Adélaïde et Victoire. It was rebuilt to a different plan in the same year by Héré's successor Richard Mique.

The Trèfle (3 on the plan)

Between the Grand Canal which marked the northern boundary of the Park and the main course of the Vezouze, Stanislas bought up more than eight hectares of additional lands, mostly private gardens and orchards, then marshlands full of rushes and weeds. Here he created an island, with a large oval central basin and fountains. The area was known at the time as the Bas Bosquets or Nouveaux Bosquets to distinguish it from the "Petits Bosquets" of the Kiosque and the Comédie Champêtre (though today, confusingly, this is the "Quai des Petits Bosquets"). The canal was also extended to form a cross, with one branch ending at the foot of the terrace. At the extreme end was sited a clover-leaf shaped pavilion, the Trèfle (built, shortly after the Kiosque, in 1739) which was overtly oriental in style. At the centre was a circular living room, seven metres in diameter, with a tiled floor, and walls decorated with Chinese scenes and stucco painted to imitate marble. The lobes of the clover leaf floor plan accommodated bedrooms with alcoves, bathrooms and wardrobes, whilst the upper floor formed a belvedere to view the surrounding gardens.

The Trèfle survived until 1795 when it was sold off and completely dismantled.

The Pavilion de la Cascade (1 on the plan)

This later pavilion was built by Héré in 1744 at the head of the Canal and served as an additional venue for summer dining. It benefited from the ample waters supplied by the great hydraulic tower. The approach was via three tiered terraces, over which water was made to flow to create the illusion of a liquid staircase. The building itself was merely timber and painted plaster, but the interior was suitably extravagant - on the ceiling Phoebus in his chariot chased the winds and clouds. There was a large round dining table, again with an elaborate "surtout"; for summer parties the musicians would install themselves in the nearby Pêcherie. There is now no trace of the original structure.

What remains?

Well, not very much! The ionic portico of Mique's kiosk, which replaced the original colonnade, was still more or less intact in the early years of the last century; today just two isolated columns now stand, relocated close to the central path through the bosquets.

The Kiosque in situ in 1905; below - two columns in the Park

In 1880 the site of the Pavillon de la Cascade was marked with an artificial assemblage of rocks; a small cascade flows through a channel to join the remainimg stretch of the canal.