Stad met een verdedigingstoren en brug over een rivier 1696

Hendrick van Beaumont's sanguine drawing depicts a fortified city with a defense tower and a bridge over a river. We don't know exactly when van Beaumont made this drawing, however, its cultural context is shaped by a period of significant urban development and military innovation. During this time, cities were centers of commerce, culture, and power, but they were also vulnerable to attack. The drawing thus captures the tension between civic pride and the need for protection, a balance many societies have struggled to maintain. What does it mean to build a beautiful place but also a secure place? Van Beaumont’s drawing invites us to reflect on our own relationship with the built environment and how it shapes our sense of safety and community. It is a timeless depiction of how human ambition and fear come together to create our shared spaces.