01. Fürstlicher Baumeister (Princely Architect) by Paul Decker. Augspurg: Verlegt von J. Wolff, Gedruckt bey P. Detleffsen, 1711-1716.

Paul Decker (1677-1713) was a German architect and theorist who studied under Andreas Schülter (1664-1714). Decker was a court architect at Bayreuth and well-known for his fanciful and grand Baroque designs as seen in Princely Architect. Shown here is the water section of a princely pleasure garden.

Pleasure gardens originated in ancient Rome as private gardens, but later periods saw an increase in their development as public gardens. Pleasure gardens were particularly popular during the 17th and 18th centuries, and served as a site for many types of public entertainment, including musical and theatrical performances. The structure of these gardens relied on tree-lined allées to delineate distinct types of space, which often included pools, fountains, ornamental buildings, and various types of decorative planting schemes.

"A Picturesque Ideal: The Art of Landscape and Garden Design," Case 1, Ryerson & Burnham Libraries, March 24, 2015-May 18, 2015.