A Castle, plate 22 from "Regiunculae et Villae Aliquot Ducatus Brabantiae" 1605 - 1615

Claes Jansz. Visscher created this print of a castle as part of a series on the Duchy of Brabant. Visscher worked during the Dutch Golden Age, a period of immense economic growth and cultural flourishing in the Netherlands. The print is of a castle surrounded by trees and water, with a small figure in the foreground. During this time, the Netherlands was emerging from a period of war and transition, where powerful families played a crucial role. Castles were not only symbols of authority, but also control. The detailed depiction invites us to think about who inhabited these spaces, who was excluded, and whose labor sustained them. In this small print, Visscher captured not just a building, but a whole world of social relations and power dynamics. It serves as a reminder of how deeply entwined art is with the history and society that produces it.