BOOKS ON ARCHITECTURE

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Transcribed version of the text

French

     Hortorum viridariorvmque... formæ was reissued around 1600 by Théodore Galle (1571-1633); it was enlarged by a series of eight engravings of gardens, also designed by Hans Vredeman de Vries, and by another series of six engravings of gardens in perspective, this time by Pieter IV van der Borcht (1545-1608), the draftsman, engraver and painter.  The engravings of the three series are numbered continuously from one to thirty-four.
In the series of eight engravings, a combination of labyrinths, pergolas, avenues of greenery, plants and topiary trees, fountains, very elaborate sections and very varied geometric structures, combinations of rectilinear, round and diagonal shapes in the layouts of the garden are evidence of a very hybrid format, which could refer to the complexity of the composite order.  But nothing recorded or indicated by the author goes in that direction.  Vredeman drew other gardens in other series of engravings, often as the decor of a scene or architectural representation.  One notices a certain resemblance between these models and those of the present collection.
The various series of Vredeman de Vries' gardens inspired numerous artists and engravers during the end of the 16^th and the beginning of the 17^th century. The third series of engravings, unsigned but done by Pieter IV van der Borcht included in the second and third editions of the Hortorum viridariorvmque... formæ, were even attributed to Vredeman because they resembled his work.  But Hans Mielke clearly showed that the style of these illustrations, with scenes of conversation and figures from the Old Testament, is different from Vredeman's style.  The four engravings of gardens in perspective done in 1614 by the Dutch artist Crispijn van de Passe the Younger which make up the introduction to the herbarium Hortus Floridus in quo rariorum & minus vulgarium florum icones, composed of one hundred and sixty reproductions of flowers grouped together according to the four seasons, again represent the pleasure gardens whose design and architecture were taken from Vredeman de Vries' work.
The book came out in a third edition around 1636-1640, published by Joan Galle (1600-1676) the elder son of Théodore, with the same series as the second.

Piet Lombaerde Hoger Instituut voor Architectuurwetenschappen Henry van de Velde,
Association Université Anvers) – 2009

Critical bibliography

E. A. De Jong, "Gärten auf Papier. Hans Vredeman de Vries und sein Hortorum Viridariorvmque elegantes & multiplicis formae von 1583", U. Härting (ed.), Gärten und Höfe der Rubenszeit im Spiegel der Malerfamilie Brueghel und der Künstler um Peter Paul Rubens, Munich, Hirmer, 2000, pp. 37-47.

P. Fuhring (ed.), De wereld is een tuin. Hans Vredeman de Vries en de tuinkunst van de Renaissance, Ghent/Amsterdam, Ludion, 2002.

P. Fuhring & G. Luijten (ed.), Hollstein’s Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts 1450-1700, Vredeman de Vries 1572-1630, 48, 2, Rotterdam, Sound & Vision Interactive, 1997, pp. 122-136.

P. Lombaerde (ed.), Hans Vredeman de Vries and the ‘Artes Mechanicae’ revisited, Turnhout, Brepols, 2005.

U. M. Mehrtens, "Johan Vredeman de Vries and the Hortorum Formae", M. Mosser & G. Teyssot (ed.), The History of Garden Design. The Western Tradition from the Renaissance to the Present Day, London, Thames & Hudson, 1991, pp. 103-105.

H. Mielke, Hans Vredeman de Vries. Verzeichnis der Stichwerke und Beschreibung seines Stiles sowie Beiträge zum Werk Gerard Groennings, doctoral thesis, Berlin, 1967.

A. Schoy, "Les jardins flamands à la fin du XVI^e siècle au point de vue de l’art", Journal des Beaux-Arts et de Littérature, 15, February 28, 1873, 4, pp. 29-31, March 15, 1873, 5, pp. 37-39.