FRENCH GARDENS: LATER 17TH AND i8th CENTURIES 145 



bleau ; his work consisted chiefly in bringing the garden up to date in 

 obedience to the King's never-ceasing desire for change. The stiff square 

 and intersecting canals of the grand parterre as they were designed for 

 Francois I were all demolished, and in their place a large square -parterre de 

 broderie, known as the Parterre du Tibre (illus. opposite), was planned with 

 a square pool in the middle. The grand canal was already cut, and Le 

 Notre's work was confined to laying out the bosquets and re-arranging the 

 parterre, which is shown in Perelle's view. Nowadays the elaborate embroi- 

 deries have disappeared and grass plots take their place ; in size this parterre 



THE CANAL AT FONTAINEBLEAU. 



will compare with anything of its kind ever laid out. At the head of the 

 grand canal is a theatre d'eau, which, although not so imposing as those of 

 Versailles or St. Cloud, is decorated with some remarkably fine bronzes. 



The gardens of the Tuileries in their present form are also due to 

 Le Notre. He entirely re-modelled the designs of Regnard and D'Orbay 

 and made great changes in the levels. The land had an inconvenient 

 fall of some few feet towards the Seine, and in order to overcome this 

 defect Le Notre raised the lateral terraces, and also extended the garden 

 by enclosing the site of the Rue des Tuileries and a piece of ground 



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