Antoine de Bosc de la Calmette

Gérard Pierre Antoine de Bosc de la Calmette, often referred to as Antoine de la Calmette, (21 September 1752 – 7 April 1803) was a Danish county governor, geheimrat, and landowner. He is, however, remembered above all as an artist and landscape architect, contributing to Danish Romanticism, especially in the design of Liselund on the island of Møn with its English garden, thatched summer residence and distributed buildings in various styles.

Early life Born in Lisbon, Portugal, Calmette was the son of the Dutch resident minister of the States-General to Portugal, Charles François de Bosc de la Calmette, a Huguenot who had left France to avoid religious persecution. His mother was Antoinette Elisabeth de Godin. During the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, he was with his brother, Charles Louis de Bosc de la Calmette; they were saved by their governess who rescued them from a burning building. He came with his parents to Denmark in 1759 when his father was transferred to Copenhagen.

About 1770, the Calmette family acquired the 15th century royal farm of Sømarkegård,

In 1777, Calmette married Anna Catharina Elisabeth (Lisa) Baroness Iselin (1759-1805), the daughter of Reinhard Iselin, a highly successful Swiss merchant employed by the Danish State. In 1781, she inherited Rosenfeldt Manor, just west of Vordingborg.

Career

In 1769, Calmette held the rank of Cornet. In 1772, he served as captain of a cavalry regiment. In 1774, he was appointed chamberlain, and in 1777, he was naturalized as a Danish nobleman. In 1783, he became governor of Møn (Møn Amt) and in 1794, also of Nykøbing. In 1793 (or 1801), he received the Order of the Dannebrog. Calmette also took an interest in prehistoric monuments, excavating Møn's Neolithic burial mound, Klekkende Høj, in 1797 while he was governor.

While he entrusted Andreas Kirkerup with the design of the garden's centerpiece, a thatched manor serving as a summer residence, it was Calmette himself who developed the garden, bringing in rare plants, shrubs and trees, all carefully laid out in accordance with a detailed plan. His knowledge of architecture also seems to have contributed to the design of the various buildings around the park. He was certainly inspired to design the Chinese pavilion after visiting Copenhagen's Frederiksberg Park as can be seen from his drawing of the park's Chinese pavilion and bridge (c. 1798).

Bosc de la Calmette died in Copenhagen; he and his wife are buried in a chapel in Damsholte Churchyard, adjacent to Marienborg on Møn.