Gezicht op Barcelona, ca. 1702 1702 - 1703

Editor: Here we have an engraving from around 1702, “View of Barcelona, Capital of Catalonia.” What strikes me most is how precisely rendered the cityscape is, almost like a map, but I wonder about the artist’s intentions here. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, looking at this print, I see more than just a representation of a city; I see a document embedded within a specific historical and political context. Prints like this were often commissioned to project power, influence, and territorial claims. Think about Barcelona at the turn of the 18th century – it was a city caught in the crosshairs of European power struggles. Editor: Power struggles? How so? Curator: This was during the War of the Spanish Succession. Barcelona, and Catalonia more broadly, had complex relationships with the Spanish crown. Representing the city in such detail wasn’t merely cartographic; it was a way of asserting control, visually codifying possession, or perhaps even fueling a sense of Catalan identity in opposition to central authority. Who controlled the narrative, controlled the image. Consider who might have commissioned or circulated such a print, and what interests they might have been serving. Does that change how you see it? Editor: It definitely does. I was so focused on the "landscape" aspect, the ships, the lighthouse, and now I am rethinking my perspective in terms of power, political message, and identity formation during a conflict. Curator: Precisely. It’s a reminder that art, even seemingly straightforward cityscapes, are rarely neutral. They actively participate in broader dialogues about identity, power, and historical narratives. Editor: So true, thank you for helping me contextualize the print, looking at who created this, when, and why adds layers of complexity!