Andre Le Notre was the “author of this garden, and those of Versailles, Chantilly, Saint Cloud, Meudon, and many more beautiful French parks.” That’s the translation of the engraving behind his statue at the place de la Concorde entry to the Tuileries. 
Le Notre was the son of Louis XIII’s gardener; and after studying math, architecture, and classical painting, he finally threw in the towel (or the trowel…) at the age of 40 to become a gardener like his father, grandfather, godfather, and the husband of his godmother. There was no way, I guess, that he could escape this destiny! He became King Louis XIV’s landscape architect and his gardener and succeeded his father as the King’s Gardener of the Tuileries. The list of gardens and parks he designed is quite extensive plus he is credited with extending the view of the Tuileries. This was the birth of the Champs-Elysees and the park-like setting around that beautiful avenue. He also designed the Luxembourg Gardens (see 2/5/07 post).
You just never know what morsel of information you might get by pausing next to a statue and reading the inscription....
Le Notre was the son of Louis XIII’s gardener; and after studying math, architecture, and classical painting, he finally threw in the towel (or the trowel…) at the age of 40 to become a gardener like his father, grandfather, godfather, and the husband of his godmother. There was no way, I guess, that he could escape this destiny! He became King Louis XIV’s landscape architect and his gardener and succeeded his father as the King’s Gardener of the Tuileries. The list of gardens and parks he designed is quite extensive plus he is credited with extending the view of the Tuileries. This was the birth of the Champs-Elysees and the park-like setting around that beautiful avenue. He also designed the Luxembourg Gardens (see 2/5/07 post).You just never know what morsel of information you might get by pausing next to a statue and reading the inscription....
