Renaissance Rocailles: A Journey through Europe

The art of rocaille, practiced by Renaissance artisans, will be explored. The most magnificent and dazzling achievements—found in Italy, France, and Germany—will be uncovered. The technical challenges of creating these works of rock and shell, as well as the aesthetic stakes of their production, will then be analyzed.

Matthieu Dejean is a graduate of the École Normale Supérieure and a civil engineer from the École des Ponts et Chaussées. A professional urban planner, he specializes in Renaissance gardens and is the author of Chanteloup, the Renaissance Garden of the Villeroy, published by Éditions Droz in 2022.

The lecture will be followed by a guided tour of the gardens of the Hôtel du Département de l’Orne, led by Bénédicte Duthion, a researcher at the Inventaire service of the Normandie Region.