Villa and Garden of the Duke of Borghese 1681

Curator: Here we have Melchior Küsel’s etching, "Villa and Garden of the Duke of Borghese," a lovely example of seventeenth-century printmaking intended for dissemination and consumption. Editor: It feels so still, so formal. I see families, perhaps enjoying the manicured gardens, but the Duke's home looms, doesn’t it? Like a stage set for a drama of power. Curator: Well, yes! The print is part of a larger set, probably meant to showcase the Borghese family’s wealth and influence through carefully crafted imagery of their estate. Consider the labor involved in building and maintaining such a place, and then reproducing it! Editor: It's also so…precise. Each tiny figure seems meticulously placed, like pieces in a grand political game. Though, I’d rather be lounging by that fountain with a book. What do you think, a good spot to reflect on the ironies of inherited privilege? Curator: Perhaps. But I am more interested in the ways in which such images were used to convey particular social and material values. Editor: A fascinating look at landscape, power, and the artistic hand in shaping perceptions! Curator: Precisely. The materiality of the image, its purpose, and its social function are all on full display here.