Schwetzingen - Schlösser-Magazin

of St John: “No man cometh unto the Father,
but by me.” 15
It would conform to the philosophical
paradigm of the period to formulate
additional connotations, with hermetic and
Rosicrucian references by no means unlikely. 16
The Temple as Utopia
The Temple of Mercury is located in the
last area of the gardens to be laid out in
accordance with the principles of the jardin
anglo-chinois. 17 Changing views of nature in
the 18th century find their expression here.
Picturesque views with scenes of an ideal
landscape apparently come true, prompt
associations in the visitor with an Arcadian
condition. Paintings of idealized landscapes
produced by artists at the time seem to have
materialized here. Versatile mini-structures
full of fantasy complement this artistic stage
set with their picturesque and atmospheric
imagery brimming with poetry. 18 One example
is the series of watercolours by Carl Kuntz
with landscape motifs from the gardens of
Schwetzingen, the Temple of Mercury among
them.
As a “fabrique”, the Temple of Mercury falls
somewhere between an architectural model
and reality. As the design did not formally
adhere to any traditional typology, it was first
and foremost an unconventional decorative
structure. In addition, the interior spaces
enticed visitors indoors, and so the Temple
of Mercury offered people of the day an
unprecedented architectural experience in a
novel architectural idiom. 19
Beyond their enticing design, the “fabriques”
were intended as symbols whose significance
15 John 14, 6: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man
cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
16 Helmut Reinalter (ed): Aufklärung und Geheimgesellschaften.
Zur politischen Funktion und Sozialstruktur der Freimaurerlogen
im 18. Jahrhundert. Ancien Régime, Aufklärung und
Revolution vol. 16. München 1989.
17 Cf. Monique Mosser: Paradoxe Architekturen oder kleiner
Traktat über die fabriques. In: Monique Mosser and Georges
Teyssot: Die Gartenkunst des Abendlandes. Von der Renaissance
bis zur Gegenwart. Stuttgart 1993. pp. 259-276.
18 John Dixon Hunt: „Ut Pictura Poesis“: der Garten und das
Pittoreske in England 1710 – 1750. In: ibid. pp. 227–238.
19 Jean-Marie Morel: Théorie des Jardins Analyse der fabriques.
Paris 1776.
III. Architectural Features
was woven into multiple connotative layers.
Close ties with literature, citations and broad
references to specialized fields of knowledge
make them an intellectual delight for the
well educated. They testify to a past era and a
fanciful world. Visitors to the garden seem to
wander through a very personal encyclopaedia
compiled by its owner, with pages open at a
wide range of themes and allusions. In some
respects, the Temple of Mercury also pays
testimony to contemporary interest in the
young science of archaeology 20 by recalling a
tomb tower that had survived from ancient
times.
The Temple of Mercury is a graphic reminder
to visitors of their own transience and finite
existence. This is particularly evident if we
compare it to the mosque opposite, which
was built at the same time. The artistic
presentation of decay suggests that nature has
already reconquered much of what appears
to have once been a highly cultivated work of
human inspiration.
20 Günter Hartmann: Die Ruine im Landschaftsgarten. Worms
1981.
III.
Fig. 4: Louis Augustin Lamy,
The Roman Monuments on the
Antiques Plateau near St. Rémy,
copper engraving 1777 (From:
Droste, Die Provence, 1995, p.
143).
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