Optical illusion
“How long do you think it takes to reach that statue of Hercules over there?” Hortense asks. I hazard a guess of 20 minutes. “No, it’s actually 45 to 50,” she says. Why so far away? The answer lies in the laws of perspective that architectural genius Le Nôtre exploited to create the formal jardin à la française. The result serves as a stunning example of near-perfect harmony between nature and the man-made environment.
Le Nôtre made full use of the natural terrain to employ an optical illusion known as hidden distortion, making a number of elements throughout the garden appear closer than they actually are. It’s shown to best advantage atop the grand staircase, from where we enjoy a magnificent perspective of a garden that appears to reveal itself in one single glance. Here, the view is of symmetrical rows of manicured shrubs, grand fountains, perfect lawns and statues; but a closer look reveals the numerous optical elements involved.
For head gardener Patrick Borgeot, what Le Nôtre created was “not a useful garden, but one designed simply to be beautiful.” And we certainly find evidence to support this, as we continue our tour on an electronic golf-buggy – an innovation introduced by the De Vogŭé family a few years ago to ensure the grounds could be enjoyed by everyone.
Descending into the main part of the gardens, we notice that there is a series of tiered sections. A little further on lies a circular pool, which appears oval from the château staircase. The grand lawn leading to the statue of Hercules now reveals itself to be sloped, while an almost kilometre-long canal suddenly comes into view. This lies at the lowest point in the gardens, completely out of sight from the château’s grand staircase.
Standing next to the mighty Hercules, Patrick explains how the different elements in these magical gardens exemplify the preoccupation of the baroque period with moulding nature to human desires. In this case, the desires were those of Fouquet who, throughout this elegant estate, sought to demonstrate his power – an obsession which, as the philosopher Voltaire cleverly put it, led to his downfall on that fateful day in August 1661: “À 6 heures du soir, Fouquet était le roi de France, mais à deux heures du matin il n’etait plus rien.”
“So, do you like it?,” Hortense asks. “Yes, very much so,” I say. Who wrould have thought there was so much to enjoy inside a château and its gardens? There’s no doubt that Vaux-le-Vicomte gives Versailles a run for its money. And that’s a lesson to us all: the places we nearly pass by can be the most enchanting.
