Le Nouveau Jardin Pittoresque: ethics, aesthetics and garden design in Belgium (1913–1940)

Abstract

Le Nouveau Jardin Pittoresque (The New Picturesque Garden) association was founded in 1913 to ‘renew and popularize garden art’ in Belgium. Originally, the emancipation of the lower classes was put forward as an important task; the association acted as a platform for those who were interested in the ethical role of garden design. Taking its journal Le Nouveau Jardin Pittoresque as the main source, this article investigates what was understood by the ‘new picturesque garden’ , why this type of garden was considered a suitable instrument for popularization and how the addressed audience evolved. The main argument is that the focus of Le Nouveau Jardin Pittoresque shifted from ethics to aesthetics during the interwar period. Under the impulse of landscape architect Jules Buyssens the emphasis moved towards the design of private gardens for the emerging middle class and away from the social role of the garden in the city.