Comparison Of Versailles And Katsura Palace

Versailles and Katsura Palace

Versailles Palace located in the city of Versailles, northern France, and is about 10 miles southwest of Paris. It was a former French royal residence and was built for Louis XIV by Louis Le Vau, architect; Charles Le Brun, painter; and Andre Le Notre, landscape architect. The gardens of Versailles represent the classic French Garden style. Katsura Palace located in the southwest suburbs of Kyoto, Japan. It was built for Prince Toshhihito by planner, Kobori Enshu in seventeenth century. The garden of Katsura is a masterpiece of the Japanese gardens, and the beauty of the garden lies in the harmonu of the simple, sophisticated appearance of the buildings and the fantastic scenery of the garden. There are many different

Specially, Versailles showed off Louis XIV power, Sun King. The central axis which crosses the Sun King room in the palace is in line with the sun’s path. The room was the focal point and the sun round which the lesser stars of the court revolved. The main axis connects the Fountain of Latona and the Fountain of Apollo which is a rich with mythological symbol and also an allegorical representation of the Sun King by means of ancient mythology. Moreover, it communicated the message that Louis XIV was not only as glorious as the Sun God but also enjoyed a status equal to that of the greatest emperors of all time. The central axis gives the optical impression of becoming lost on the horizontal because it presents the powerful and world renowned illusion of extending for eternity along the west horizontal, where the sun sets. The main axis lost on the horizon, leaving one with the impression that everything is subordinated to the laws of geometrical order which rules of the world whose only direction is the Sun King. The geometric design of the garden shows the controlling nature of human. On the contrary, the Katsura garden contains the essentials of Zen Buddhism, and was intended for occasional occupancy as a place for reflection, relaxation, creative works, and contemplation of nature. The Katsura garden was designed asymmetrical without a main axis. The bamboo wall around the garden presented a distinct harmony between the natural and artificial. It is different with Europe style which the trees are created into artificial patters. Structure of the bamboo wall showed the subtle artistry of the designer who did not take a natural form and bend it to his will. The tea houses where people enjoy tea into a spiritual ritual symbolizing detached perfection in the Zen Buddhism were set in a Zen inspired landscape. The tea houses were designed with small irregular structures that