Gezicht (van opzij) op een terraswaterval in het park van Paleis Het Loo 1690 - 1694

Romeyn de Hooghe made this print of the Het Loo palace gardens using etching techniques some time around the turn of the 18th century. It gives us a glimpse into the public role of art and landscape during the Dutch Golden Age. The print depicts an elevated terrace waterfall in the formal gardens, populated by figures in contemporary dress. The gardens themselves reflect Dutch aspirations to sophistication and power. The Palace was built by William of Orange, the stadtholder who became King of England, Scotland and Ireland, so the gardens are both intensely Dutch and cosmopolitan. De Hooghe’s print not only shows us what the gardens looked like, but also how they were used. The figures are arranged to show the different levels of the garden and suggest the social interactions that took place there. Historians looking into such images can use estate records, social diaries, and other documents to bring the scene to life and understand the meanings it held for its contemporaries.