The Enchanted Garden

There's nothing "enchanted" about the January garden view outside our window...

The Enchanted Garden of Messer Ansaldo
Maria Stillman

Here's an old story from Boccaccio's Decameron, about a dissatisfied wife who wishes for a garden that's as beautiful in January as it is in May...

Messer Ansaldo chases after the married woman Dianora, and in moment of recklessness she says she will yield to him if he achieves the impossible and produces a garden in winter with the flowers and fruits of spring. As the painting shows, with the help of a magician Ansaldo creates a May garden despite the snow that is falling outside the wall in the 'real world'. Dianora is now faced with a difficult situation, but decides to confess all to her husband, Gilberto. Gilberto suggests she must comply with Ansaldo's desires. (Maybe he was tired of her?) However, moved by Dianora's honesty to her husband, Ansaldo releases her from their "contract."

I guess the moral is-- be careful what you wish for. The story is the subject of another famous painting by John Waterhouse.

The Enchanted Garden

John Waterhouse