Gezicht op tuin met Neptunusfontein en verliefde paartjes 1611 - 1650

Nicolas de Son created this print of a garden with a Neptune fountain and lovers sometime between 1550 and 1680 in the Netherlands. The print is a window into the social life of the Dutch Golden Age. The garden setting, with its formal layout and classical statuary, reflects the wealth and status of the Dutch elite, who looked to classical antiquity to legitimize their cultural power. We see fashionably dressed couples, and figures seemingly overcome by love’s passions. A broken lute lies on the ground, perhaps a symbol of discord or lost harmony. But is the artist merely celebrating the pleasures of the wealthy? Or is there a critical subtext? Prints like this one circulated widely, shaping ideas about love, leisure, and social status. Art historians consult period sources, such as etiquette manuals and popular literature, to understand the visual codes and social contexts of images like this one. The meaning of art is never fixed; it changes as society evolves.