Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(1):28-32

Methodological approach to interpreting historical photos of garden detail

Přemysl Krejčiřík

Photography is perhaps the most authentic evidence of the history of a building, capturing it in an undistorted state. Peoples' memories tend to be distorted by personal experience. Photos can be interpreted from many professional perspectives. Photography provides historians with many documents for describing and understanding the society of the day.
For purposes of garden and landscape design, photography is the base material for the renovation of historical structures. A thorough analysis and subsequent quality interpretation of the period photodocumentation, in the case of vegetation modifications, the necessary knowledge of the historical distribution of vegetation. For the renovation of gardens, it is absolutely essential to understand gardens as a whole in the context of their development. Garden details should not be taken out of context of their overall development. Information about partial modifications in a certain time period must be subordinated to the overall composition. It is very easy to slip into a historical reconstruction of garden beds from different periods side by side, with reference to contemporary photographs. The subject of the garden art must be taken as a whole, not as a mass of individual details, even if they were authentically captured in photographs. The overall compositional arrangement of the garden from a certain period unified into a whole is very important for understanding the historical development of a garden.
Research results should be published and presented to the public. For the general public who continues to seek out more information from the world of history, the evolution of gardens is a very interesting pastime. The lay visitor can identify with a garden very quickly. For the professional public and trained laity, interpretations of historical evolution should be presented as printed or electronic guides. Sets of interpreted photographs with an exact designation of the described details are an important source of authentic knowledge. Today's modern technology makes it possible to present a large amount of photographic documentation for the locality in a very interesting way. The interactive presentation of documents allows for the knowledge about garden culture in our country to be broadened to the level where it certainly belongs.
The article presents a method of interpretation which can be recommended only for the study of garden detail. This methodology builds on other methodologies for the research of buildings, or specialized methodical materials for surveys of landscape architecture as well as of implemented structural and historical research.
The methodology of interpretation consists of the following steps, discussed in detail in the article:
1) Preparatory phase; 2) Recording the descriptive data of the photography; 3) Critical evaluation of the veracity of the descriptive data; 4) Verification of whether the photos were modified by retouching; 5) A description of the displayed content of the interpreted photographs; 6) Localization of the photograph in the analyzed structure; 7) Specification of the dating of the photo in the respective structure; 8) Comparison of the photos with other photos of the given site; 9) Critical comparison of photos of the same place relative to one another; 10) Preparation of textual report; 11) Acquisition of comparative photographs of the current state; 12) Critical evaluation of the whole.

Keywords: historical photos; monuments of garden art; monument renovation; methodology; garden detail; the use of photography in the preparation of monument restoration

Published: March 1, 2016  Show citation