Landschap met gebouwen bij rivier 1613 - 1695

Nicolas Perelle made this etching of a landscape with buildings near a river sometime in the latter half of the 17th century. The image offers us more than just a pretty scene; it invites us to consider the social values attached to land and property in France at that time. With its careful depiction of buildings integrated into the natural environment, the etching suggests an aristocratic ideal of harmony between humans and nature. The presence of laborers also indicates a social hierarchy and the economic activities that sustained such estates. To fully understand this image, we might explore estate records, architectural treatises, and social histories. In doing so, we recognize that the meaning of art is always shaped by the context in which it was created and viewed.