# Exterior view [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [VANBRUGH, John]() - Date: 1701-1750 - Technique: Photo ## Commentary The picture shows the view from the parkland landscaped by Lancelot Brown \(1716-1783\), more commonly known with the byname Capability Brown, England's greatest gardener. The relationship of the building to the landscape was a crucial part of the design. Vanbrugh and Henry Wise created formal gardens and turned the surrounding forest into parkland to provide a more appropriate frame for the house; Vanbrugh also sought \(unsuccessfully\) to retain the nearby medieval ruins of Woodstock Manor. His triple-spanned Grand Bridge in front of the palace originally crossed three canals but now spans the lake created by 'Capability' Brown when he redesigned the landscaping. View the <a href="\#" onClick="w=window.open \('/support/plans/v/vanbrugh/blenheim.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=400,height=600'\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return false">ground plan</a> of Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire. ## Related artworks - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view]() - [General view]() - [Interior view]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()