Les jardins japonisants Jardins japonais ou japoniaiserie paysagère ? by Romain BILLON – Château de Bénouville
From the 1880s to the late 1930s, the Japonisme vogue developed throughout the Western World. Horticulture and landscapism were drawn into this massive movement, the wake of which engulfed, not only thousands of private individuals but also private institutions (amusement parks, restaurants, stores, etc.) and public institutions (towns, embassies, etc.) amidst a fever of green space development inspired by Japanese gardens.
Failing sufficient knowledge, appropriate materials and correctly qualified workers, the vast majority of these creations were but pale imitations, spurring the emergence of so-called ‘Japanese style’ gardens.
This seldom-used term – for perceived as disparaging – has finally, over the past decade, began to appear in studies and scientific articles.
This conference will offer you an insight or a reminder of these Japanese style gardens, and the dawn of a revival that emerged in English-speaking countries, encouraging potential restorations in France, and the hope to see these creations regain a rightful place in the history of garden art and of Japanese gardens.
Romain Billon
After studying horticulture (option in spatial development), Romain Billon worked for 20 years at the Albert Kahn Museum (Hauts-de-Seine department), where he discovered and specialised in the maintenance and history of Japanese gardens, focusing – in particular – on their adaptation, in the late 19th century, to Western tastes. For the past two years, he has been in charge of the Jardin Alpin, located within the Paris Botanical Gardens and the National Museum of Natural History.