Le jardin Sévigné
Public commission from the Center National des Arts Plastiques (Paris) carried out on the occasion of the national celebrations of the tercentenary of the death of the Marquise Sévigné Chantal de Rabutin (1626-1696).
The garden has the shape of a coat of arms; the name SÉVIGNÉ is written on its surface in so-called "English" calligraphy and is inspired by the "embroidery" lines of Le Nôtre. The writing defines the planting of boxwood and the pedestrian stroll. The maintenance and size of the shrubs, following the technique of "topiary art" directs the shape of the garden over the years. The foliage should reveal a bulging plant mass, no longer showing the name lying on the ground, the circulation will remain the same, but this time the walker will be sheltered by a plant sky in the middle of the boxwood trunks. This garden is a metaphor for the womb of mother and daughter Françoise-Marguerite de Grignan, wife of François Adhémar de Monteil, Count of Grignan. The complex relationship of the two women decided the maze shape of this garden. Their sovereign and underground presence in the tourist activities of Grignan, which saw the name Sévigné as its signature, are the reasons for this plant sculpture. It will be truly completed and visible only after a few decades.