Plattegrond van Neuhäusel, 1726 1726

Curator: This drawing, an anonymous work from 1726 titled “Plattegrond van Neuhäusel,” offers us a fascinating glimpse into the historical landscape. The artist rendered it in ink on paper. What's your immediate impression? Editor: Stark. It’s austere in a way, this stark geometric rendering of a city—or perhaps more accurately, a fortification—and its surroundings. There's a utilitarian beauty to the lines defining the land. Curator: Indeed. Neuhäusel, as depicted here, speaks to a specific sociopolitical reality: the imperative of defense, of mapping power. It's a cartographic representation, but it’s also a power statement, if we consider gender dynamics in 1726, mapping was predominantly masculine work. What readings can we bring through our current politics? Editor: I’m drawn to the materials used. The simplicity of ink on paper really emphasizes the *process* of documentation and record-keeping. The craft behind capturing such strategic layouts would’ve been considered crucial, especially the act of translation on paper, it would be important how one city is read into image on paper, distributed, used and even consumed for military means. Curator: And if you look closer, the intricate lines are telling the story about siege warfare; there are coded signs and textual notations for features of fortifications and water works. The geometric patterns highlight a masculine urge to regulate and govern—both people and natural elements—by bending nature into lines, angles, controlled landscapes. Editor: It emphasizes the level of planning involved in either constructing or attacking a city during this period. It goes beyond pure craft, also beyond visual appeal to speak to a deeper practical intent: strategic overview. I want to follow the supply chain from the making to usage of ink to paper at that time! Curator: Absolutely, and it reflects the intersection of artistic skill and military engineering of that time, offering commentary on broader power relations within society and its effects on those whose labor facilitated this production. Editor: I concur. I came in viewing just lines, but I leave viewing labor. Curator: And I saw patterns but leave with appreciating human agency and politics they entail.