Veelhoekig bassin op verhoging met trappen 1664

This print depicts a polygonal basin on a platform with steps, crafted by an anonymous artist. Printed images like this were crucial for disseminating design ideas. What appears to be a depiction of a large-scale fountain is rendered entirely through the marks of the printmaker’s tools – lines etched into a metal plate and then transferred to paper. We can appreciate the skilled handiwork involved in achieving such precision and detail, as well as the ingenuity of design. The print may reference classical antiquity, evident in the figure of Neptune at the top, or suggest the exuberance of the Baroque era. However, it is also a commodity, made possible by new techniques of reproduction. The architecture is clearly described in the print; the details of the individual figures carefully articulated. The goal here is to show how design can be efficiently replicated and distributed. It collapses the distinction between fine art and industrial design by making the techniques of production as important as the aesthetics of the image.