- Conference
Catherine de Médicis et les Tuileries : une reine et ses jardins by Guillaume Fonkenell – Paris (France)
Catherine de Medici and the Tuileries: a queen and her gardens
‘But of what use are her Tuileries?
Nothing, […] no more than pure vanity.’
These words by Ronsard call into question the use Catherine de Medici made of her gardens, the legitimacy of which, contrary to the poet’s claim, lay in their response to a vast array of needs. Indeed, well beyond satisfying the sovereign’s desire for leisure and entertainment, they also served food production, scientific and experimental, diplomatic and political needs. And if Catherine de Medici, who was the leading sponsor of gardens during the French Renaissance period, incessantly had new horticultural areas designed and planted throughout her life, the Tuileries unquestionably remain her greatest endeavour, in terms of size and ambition, and are consequently the perfect resource for helping us to understand her intentions.
Auditorium du Louvre – Musée du Louvre
75 058 Paris