Tag Archives: Capability Brown

rubbing shoulders with the celestial emperor

The noble houses of eighteenth century England. Eventually the life blood of civilization began to flow through the veins of barbarized Europe. Gradually, a tide of wealth swept over the old noble warrior society. By 1750 the Western world had … Continue reading

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country living: size and surprise

The noble houses of eighteenth century England… …To most visitors it is a strange unreal world that opens before their eyes, and questions crowd in. Are the 365 rooms at Knole in Kent really necessary even for a duke?  Two … Continue reading

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not a recorder of the “right” sentiments

Turner was perhaps the greatest of all British artists, but there was always the question of whether his most adventurous works were evidence of mental decay. Turner was the antithesis of Charles Eastlake, the head of the Royal Academy. Eastlake … Continue reading

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nature abhors a straight line

England’s original contribution to garden art is the landscape park. William Kent was among the first to see that “all nature is a garden.” and his famous dictum that ” nature abhors a straight line.” Interesting in light of linear … Continue reading

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apollo rising

The belief that paradise was up ahead, always just out of reach, had never wavered during the relentless rise of European secularism since the sixteenth century. From then until now, the tenacious grip of the symbolism of the paradise myth … Continue reading

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how grows your garden: vegetable patch kids

Andre Le Notre laid out many noble gardens  which soon became world famous. Versailles in particular was envied by every prince in Europe. And in the century and more that followed, these royal gardens were copied all over the civilized … Continue reading

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AGREEABLE NEGLIGENCE: PLEASURE REGARDLESS OF CONSEQUENCE

There was a time when landed gentry were able to lead a life of extraordinary privilege and freedom. It was the era of the lordly pleasures. Secure in their wealth, confident of their position, indulged by their countrymen, the aristocrats … Continue reading

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