Images of nature and wilderness in garden art. The cultural contexts of a current debate.

The course explores the cultural-historical dimension of a current discussion about wilderness. This is done both chronologically and typologically in the first part of the course on garden art. The focus is therefore on periods and cultural trends in which motifs of wilderness are very present in the conception and design of gardens, such as Mannerism or Romanticism. In addition, images and features , such as the forest, glade, mountain, cave, hermitage or ruin are analysed with regard to their meaning and genesis using classical examples of garden art. As a transition to the second block, namely the student research/seminar work on the historical development of open spaces in their home communities since modernism, a colleague from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Dr. Brenda Zoderer, will present her current research on urban wilderness for discussion.