View of the park
France is the land of the Baroque garden, but in the 18th century the less rigid British landscape garden very quickly became popular as well. The park of the Palace of Canon in Normandy, south-east of Caen, was laid out by Jean-Baptiste �lie de Beaumont, a lawyer and friend of Voltaire.
The Palace of Canon was bought by �lie de Beaumont in 1768 who plunged straightway into a colossal building programme which was to ruin him financially. Between 1768 and 1786 he raised the roof, building a first floor topped with Italian-style balusters and embellished with sculptured vases, screening a slate roof. He ordered countless trees of various different species from the Harcourt nurseries that were to adorn the park; he always sought contrasting colours for all seasons (elms, lime trees, chestnut trees, hornbeam, oriental sycamore, beech, yew, boxwood, etc…); furthermore, he paid close attention to “natural sounds” (the waterfalls), and to perspective (preferring canals and rivers to walls for the enclosure of sections). He financed the works with growing difficulty, and he died heavily indebted in 1786.
The photo shows a view of the park with the Chinese Kiosk.
