Gezicht op Paleis Het Loo vanuit vogelvlucht 1694 - 1697

This delicate print, showing a bird’s-eye view of the Paleis Het Loo, was made by Jan van Call around the turn of the 18th century. The print would have been achieved by incising an image into a metal plate, inking the surface, and then running it through a press – a process known as etching. Look closely, and you can see the repetitive patterns of labor everywhere: the regimented rows of trees, the precisely-placed stonework of the palace, the regimented geometry of the flowerbeds. This is a vision of absolute control, achieved through the work of many hands. The palace itself symbolizes power, but so too does the print. In its time, it would have been relatively cheap to produce, making it possible to disseminate images of wealth and authority to a wide audience. The skilled labor required to produce the original plate, and the unskilled labor of printing countless impressions, both speak to the social order of the time.