Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(5):530-534

Archaeological excavations of garden art monuments versus period iconographic sources. A few experiences from the Flower Garden in Kroměříž

Jiří Janál

The International Charter on historic gardens requires the renovation of historic gardens to be carried out on the basis of a scientifically substantiated design. In effect, this means that it is necessary to concentrate all available sources to the memory of garden art, and possibly to subject analogies and this ensemble to criticism. An important source of knowledge concerning the original appearance of a historical garden is also historical depictions. The question, however, is to what extent the structure depicted is truthful and what the degree of possible artistic license may be. For extinct structures, these questions be answered in part through methods of archaeological research. Using the example of knowledge of the Flower Garden in Kroměříž, there are several examples that compare the representation of a certain part of the garden on engravings from the late 17th century with the results of archaeological research. A certain correspondence was indeed found, but it was not always complete. For engravings, the limiting factors were primarily the person of the artist himself (cartographer and topographer Georg Matthias Vischer, artist Justus van der Nypoort) and the detail of the depicted representation (overall view of the garden, depictions of only parts thereof). Small mobiliary (a stone seat) depicted in the Birdhouse and the Bowling House was not depicted at the Trout Pond, even though it is documented in archaeological research. Findings detectable by archaeological research are influenced by local conditions, the method of archaeology for the given situation, and the post-deposition processes.

Keywords: Monuments of garden art; historical iconographic material; archaeological research; Flower garden in Kroměříž

Published: December 1, 2016  Show citation