Gezicht vanuit het kabinet op de tuin van Huis ter Meer te Maarssen c. 1740

Hendrik de Leth created this print, “View from the Cabinet to the Garden of Huis ter Meer in Maarssen," in the eighteenth century. The eye is immediately drawn into the composition via the patterned ground, the lines of which converge at the distant view. The low walls and trimmed trees frame the open area and create a sense of depth. De Leth’s use of perspective is deliberate and creates a staged effect as if the viewer is watching a theatrical production. The formal garden layout, with its geometric patterns and symmetry, embodies the ideals of order and control typical of the period. The artist creates a structured world, that engages with notions of space, perception, and power. The garden becomes not just a place of leisure but also a symbolic representation of human control over nature. This control reflects a broader cultural and philosophical desire to understand and manage the world through rational principles. The artwork, therefore, functions not merely as an aesthetic object but as a complex discourse on human ambition and its relationship with the natural world.