Author(s): Chantal Colleu-Domund; Eric Sander

Interiors

Over the past decade, the Domaine of Chaumont-sur- Loire has become a world center for the art of the garden, inviting artists from Asia to America to explore and sublime the special relationship between art and nature. Comprising 50-acre gardens and set against the backdrop of a romantic medieval castle and the sublime colors and landscapes of the Loire Valley, the site has now been classed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. The 15th-century château once belonging to Catherine de Medecis was acquired by the prestigious Prince Amédée de Broglie family in the late 19th- century and hosted the Parisian artistic and literary elite as well as foreign visitors such as the Mahradjah of Kapurthala, who famously offered a baby elephant to the owners as a gift. The château and its contents were sold to the Loire region just before WWII. In 1992, Chaumont became home to the International Garden Festival where it has hosted a series of highly creative exhibitions devoted to garden art and landscape art, exploring science, technology and art with a poetry and inventiveness that are beautifully rendered by Eric Sander's magnificent photographs .