The exhibition "Gardens of Enlightenment (1750-1800)" will run at Versailles (Grand Trianon and English Garden of the Petit Trianon) from 5th May to 27th September 2026.
In spring 2026, Gardens of Enlightenment (1750–1800) will open, a major exhibition bringing together nearly 150 works — paintings, drawings, furniture, architectural projects and costumes — to reveal the originality and diversity of landscaped gardens designed in the second half of the eighteenth century. Inspired by a model that emerged in Great Britain in the 1730s, this new style freed itself from the rules of the French formal garden, breaking with symmetry and geometric layouts in favour of irregularity, the picturesque and a poetic evocation of nature. From the middle of the century onwards, this aesthetic spread across northern Europe in a wave of Anglomania that combined eccentric garden follies, philosophical reverie, a taste for exoticism and the search for an intimate refuge. The exhibition explores its many sources — from Antiquity to China — as well as the new ways of life it accompanied, oscillating between rural pleasures, festivities and contemplation. The exhibition route will engage in close dialogue with the historic gardens of the Trianon estate, offering a new perspective on the elements of its English garden: the Belvedere, the Temple of Love and the Queen’s Hamlet.
Curated by Elisabeth Maisonnier
2026 Exhibition programme at the Château de Versailles | Château de Versailles
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