Vestingplattegrond van Duinkerken 1696 - 1697

Curator: Welcome. We’re looking at an engraving from 1696-1697. It’s a Vestingplattegrond van Duinkerken, or a fortified plan of Dunkirk. The author is anonymous. Editor: My first impression is the rigidity of the fortifications contrasted with the baroque ornamentation framing the print. The almost obsessive detail…it gives a sense of immense control and, honestly, a little coldness. Curator: That tension is precisely the point. These plans were tools of power, displaying a mastery over terrain and defense. The anonymous production raises questions about artistic license versus military objective. Editor: The etching technique itself enforces the control – such clear, decisive lines. The very materiality of the engraving on paper supports that reading, doesn’t it? Curator: Exactly. But look closer at that ornamentation you mentioned. Cherubs pulling back the curtain as if revealing some great secret…it's propagandistic. Dunkirk was a significant port, a strategic asset fought over for centuries. Consider the social and economic implications of its control. The print wasn't just cartography. Editor: And that curtain itself, draped so carefully. It’s theatrics! The composition deliberately draws the eye to the meticulously rendered town plan, almost celebrating the potential for its dominance. Curator: Absolutely. It also invites contemplation of Dutch power, of mercantile ambition cloaked in scientific precision, intended for both informative and aspirational purposes, to reinforce social norms. The act of printing, the mass dissemination, served this very end. Editor: And the frame further enhances that idea. What seems like a decorative border really amplifies that sense of importance. The work becomes like a jewel on the wall. I suppose the whole print does project a particular ideological perspective… Curator: Indeed. What at first may strike us as objective observation in this city scape becomes imbued with an anonymous ambition tied to war. Editor: Reflecting on it, it does serve as more than a historical artifact; its formalism betrays strategic ambition and the exercise of power. Curator: Precisely. Its enduring testament lies not merely in geography but in humanity’s insatiable craving to create boundaries, real and imagined.