Pierre-Adrien Pâris, architecte de Louis XVI, “jardineur”, botaniste by Aline LEMONNIER-MERCIER – Château de Bénouville

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Pierre-Adrien Pâris, architecte de Louis XVI, “jardineur”, botaniste by Aline LEMONNIER-MERCIER – Château de Bénouville

Pierre-Adrien Pâris, architect for Louis XVI, gardener, botanist

Pierre-Adrien Pâris (Besançon, 25th November 1745-1st August 1819) demonstrated from a very early age, in particular during his trip to Rome with the artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard, a marked taste for the art of gardens, be it in the design of decors for performances organised for the court of Louis XVI or for the fine properties he designed – dwellings and gardens adorned with follies. Among his many works, the Château de Colmoulins and its gardens, located near Le Havre, designed for the merchant Stanislas Foache, with whom he sought refuge in 1792, are particularly worthy of note.

Aline  Lemonnier-Mercier

Aline Lemonnier-Mercier is a doctor in history of art. In December 2008, she presented a thesis on ‘Les embellissements du Havre au XVIIIe siècle’ (The 18th century embellishments of Le Havre), at the University of Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne, published by the Rouen-Le Havre university presses. She has taken part in a number of colloquiums, essentially focusing on habitat but also on the art of gardens, along with several conferences, the texts of which can be consulted in the Centre Havrais de Recherche Historique (Le Havre centre for historical research) archives.