Gezicht op burcht Pfalzgrafenstein bij Kaub 1688 - 1698

Jan van Call rendered this view of the Pfalzgrafenstein Castle near Kaub using pen in brown and brush in grey and watercolour. Encapsulated within a perfect circle, the castle is centered and still. It's austere architectural form is echoed on either side of the water, with the soft, mountainous landscape. The composition is built around a series of contrasts: the hard, geometrical man-made structure and the soft, organic landscape; the central, grounded positioning of the castle and the expansive, airy sky; and the smooth, reflective water and the jagged cliffs on either side. These elements combine to evoke a sense of stability and order. Van Call's use of the circle destabilizes the landscape; it is a structural device that frames and contains the landscape, turning it into a self-contained world, and a meditation on the relationship between humanity, architecture and nature. Each viewing offers the potential to reassess this relationship.