- Rendez-vous de l'Institut
- Conference
Jardins et paysages culturels de Port-Royal des Champs : Genèse et évolution d’une thébaïde au Grand Siècle by Sylvain HILAIRE – Château de Bénouville
Gardens and cultural landscapes of Port-Royal des Champs: genesis and evolution of a solitary retreat to the 17th century
Interpretations of the site of Port-Royal-des-Champs are no longer limited to its role as a bastion of Jansenism, as the epicentre of religious resistance to the assertion of an absolutistic model. Port-Royal was also the cradle of vast experience in horticultural and landscaping creation that is quite unique in French and European history, to such an extent that it was perceived by its partisans as the resurgence of a new Garden of Eden on the very doorstep of Versailles. Such was the depiction by a 19th century author, “… from the disorderly grasses of Port-Royal to the green carpets of Versailles: the two facets of one unique French garden.” The contribution provided by that quite singular country academy appears to have been decisive in the emergence of classicism in its sacred dimension, significantly influencing its relationship with nature, with landscapes and with gardens. The aim is therefore, first and foremost, to explore the intrinsic wealth of the cultural and memory landscapes of this “Grand Siècle Retreat”.
Sylvain Hilaire
Sylvain HILAIRE, a qualified modern historian, is particularly attached to heritage conservation. He is in charge of the CRDI (Regional International Documentation Centre) at the Port-Royal des Champs National Museum, the implementation of which he has coordinated since 2008 in collaboration with the Port-Royal GIP (Public Interest Group) partners. From 2001 to 2005, he was in charge of the creation of the “Jardins d’utilités” (utilities gardens) – experimental meditation areas designed to valorise the site’s heritage. As an innovative cultural project, these gardens were awarded a Fondation de France prize in 2006. He concurrently conducts doctoral research on the history of the gardens and landscapes of Port-Royal des Champs, via which he regularly contributes towards INHA (National Institute for the History of Art) and INP (National Heritage Institute) conferences and towards the National School of Architecture of Versailles’ “Historic gardens, heritage, landscape” course.