A.T. Bolotov and the creation of new concepts of landscape gardening in Russia (on the problem of the transfer of European horticultural practices to the Russian “soil”)

Abstract

We examines the contribution of A.T. Bolotov to the creation and development of park art in the Russian Empire in the second half of the XVIII century. The issues of the dissemination of European literature in Russia devoted to the creation of recreational areas and agricultural technology, its impact on the development of domestic parks are analyzed. The concept of the worldview of A.T. Bolotov is characterized. Bolotov, in which the sensations or internal states experienced by the subject were caused not by external (material) stimuli at all, but by the inner “spiritual” world of a person who eventually becomes able to distinguish good from evil, morality from immorality. Thus, it was the soul of the individual that gave a stable form to sensations and formed the warehouse of the worldview. The scientist has repeatedly developed this idea in his work. According to A.T. Bolotov, three things had a particularly strong effect on the inner (“sensual”) world of a person: reading literature, good conversation and contemplation of nature. The comprehension of these classes prompted A.T. Bolotov to become interested in landscape art, which is the application of all human sensual aspirations. It is noted that the thoroughness of the study of landscape gardening and its verification in the conditions of his estate ensured the creation of his own practice of Russian parks, in which A.T. Bolotov described methods of selecting high-quality seeds, methods of tillage, paid attention to the timing of planting plants, the features of their grafting.