[Born in Paris, 1613. Died there, 1700. Aged 87.]
The designer of the magnificent gardens at Versailles; the projector of
its grand fountains, grottos, porticos, and bowers. He also laid out the
gardens of St. Cloud, the Tuileries, Meudon, and several others. Louis
XIV. heaped favours upon this great gardener, but Le Nôtre could not be
spoiled by royal indulgence. He travelled into Italy and was received by
Pope Innocent XI. “I care not how soon I die now,” said Le Nôtre to the
Pope, “since I have seen the two greatest potentates in the world--your
Holiness and the King, my master.” Le Nôtre was simple, honest, and
disinterested: possessed a fertile genius and lively imagination; in
many respects the prototype of our own Paxton.
[From the marble in the Louvre, by Gourdel, which was taken from the
one in the Church of St. Roch.]