Resumen de André le Nostre and the bishop's garden at Meaux
Tradition has long held the garden of the bishop of Meaux to be an early work of André le Nostre. Close scrutiny of its design reinforces this belief, and it is the purpose of this article to demonstrate how this garden already reflects many of the ideas and methods which the landscape architect will employ in his later works. The garden, often referred to as "Le jardin de Bossuet" after the famous prelate who presided over the bishopric of Meaux between 1682 and 1704 and who was frequently to be found in residence there, was, in fact, created at an earlier date. It was Dominique Séguier, appointed Bishop of Meaux in 1637, who determined that the palace should be remodeled and a pleasure garden added. Thus, soon after his appointment, Séguier began acquiring land for the garden which seems to have been actually executed between 1643 and 1644.3 It is easy to imagine that Séguier was dismayed by the antiquated quarters provided for the Bishop of Meaux. Part of the building dated back to the twelfth-century, and successive additions in the fourteenth and sixteenth-centuries were constructed with little or no consideration for a cohesive whole. As a result, the palace was irregular in both plan and elevation.
