Ermenonville Project
The theme of this collaborative project is the philosophical garden - specifically, the connections between Ian Hamilton Finlay's garden, Little Sparta, at Dunsyre and the parks created in the 1770s by the Marquis Rene de Girardin, at Ermenonville, north of Paris.
Finlay's garden is created in the spirits of classical myth, historical Enlightenment and eighteenth century Revolution. Girardin created the landscape of his estate in accordance with current Enlightenment principles of social equity. It was also an evocative place, raising natural spirits and provoking natural sentiments. Its design was inspired by the writer of the Social Contract, The Confessions, La Nouvelle Eloise and Emile, Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Girardin invited Rousseau to live a retirement at Ermenonville. Rousseau died and was buried there in 1778.
Jim Lawson
