Terrasse am Meer, rechts ein Brunnen 

Editor: This is Isaac de Moucheron's etching, "Terrasse am Meer, rechts ein Brunnen", or "Terrace by the Sea, Fountain on the Right" from the Baroque period, currently at the Städel Museum. It has a dream-like quality with lots of depth, figures on a terrace looking out onto the sea. What symbols stand out to you in this landscape? Curator: Notice how the artist frames the expansive seascape with carefully placed trees and architectural elements. This framing in itself speaks to the Baroque era's emphasis on order and control, even when depicting nature. But let’s consider the sea, it has long been a potent symbol for the unconscious. What do you see as you gaze upon the ships that sail upon it? Editor: They are fairly small and at the distant shore in comparison to the figures. Maybe the viewers are longing for faraway places? Curator: Precisely! And these figures, lounging and pointing, aren't simply relaxing. They are engaging in a kind of symbolic discourse. What about the ruins behind them on the right? What do you feel when you see that object, and the ones across the sea, presented as a portal? Editor: The decaying architecture reminds me of the passage of time and all that gets lost over time. Perhaps all that we see gets reframed or altered as time moves. It's interesting how all the different elements—the sea, the figures, and even the architecture—become pieces of a much bigger symbolic puzzle. Curator: Yes! It highlights how artists like Moucheron used the visual language of their time, to encode complex ideas about humanity, nature, and our place within a vast and ever-changing world. Editor: This makes me see landscapes, and even other genres, as far more intricate tapestries of meaning! I see now that by understanding these visual symbols, we understand how a specific culture communicates through images.