Les Enclos

Mr. Gulbenkian's Interrupted Garden

Castel-Branco, Cristina
Gulbenkian, Calouste Sarkis

The reality of Calouste Gulbenkian unfurls in two lives that influence 20th century history and with strong repercussions for Portugal. An oil engineer educated in London, a multi-millionaire, and considered the richest man in the world in his time. Gulbenkian turned his life into a rigorously planned success, becoming a collector of art and leaving behind the fabulous legacy for his Foundation to cherish and care for his art collection on exhibition in Lisbon.
Emerging from his sentence “There are two great objectives that I’ve never managed to attain in my life; becoming a scientist and having a garden in my own style where I might dream,” this new biography of Gulbenkian conveys his sensitivity towards nature and, correspondingly, gardens, which was his secret to a very successful relationship with life. In 1937, he purchased Les Enclos, an estate with 33 hectares in Normandy, with a view of the sea. In 1940: Interruption! German occupation! and on the promontory where he thought about building his home, the trees were felled, bunkers built alongside railway lines and all subsequently bombarded by the Allies.
As from 1942, in his refuge in Portugal, we encounter CG committed to rebuilding the Les Enclos garden from afar. The contrast with the Sintra Mountains is total. Here, he rents Vila Sassetti, a green paradise with its own view of the sea. Creating a garden is never a pursuit for one person and CG discovers Saint-John Perse, a friend and deeply learned in the art of gardens. Together, they dream Les Enclos. In Sintra, he is accompanied by his secretary who, since 1930, typed out the details of all his life, who secretly loved him, who served and defended him and was ever present through to his death. The handwriting of Mme. Theis is so peculiar that it betrays her, revealing a passion that would otherwise seem to be unfolding into two women...