Muurfontein in tuinpaviljoen 1664

This is an engraving of a 'Muurfontein in tuinpaviljoen', or Wall fountain in a garden pavilion, made by an anonymous artist. Images like this circulated widely, especially among the aristocracy, documenting the landscape of power, literally. The fountain, with its classical figures, becomes a stage for the performance of power. Its architecture, a blend of nature and artifice, underscores the control of the elites, contrasting their cultivated spaces with the wildness beyond. Consider the absence of the artist’s identity here, highlighting the complexities of authorship and labor, especially if we think about the labour required to create such a space. Whose stories are told and whose are erased? This image invites us to think about how landscapes reflect social structures and hierarchies, marking the land with stories of power, privilege, and the forgotten hands that shaped them.