' 'het Huys te Duyvenvoorde' , in: Tooneel Der Voornaamste Nederlands Huizen, En Lust Hoven, Naar T Leven Afgebeeld 1660 - 1693

Carel Allard created this print of 'het Huys te Duyvenvoorde', a stately Dutch home, sometime between 1648 and 1709. The composition immediately draws the eye to the symmetrical arrangement of the building, gardens, and even the clouds above. This symmetry lends a sense of order and control, typical of formal Dutch garden design. The house itself, rendered in shades of red and brown, rises as a central block, flanked by geometrically arranged gardens. Notice how Allard uses linear perspective to create depth, drawing us from the foreground figures, up the stairs, and into the structured landscape. The balance between the natural and the artificial, between organic form and geometric order, is a key tension here. This print isn't merely a depiction; it's a statement about humanity's ability to shape and control the natural world through design. The formal rendering of space and perspective becomes a way of asserting dominance, reflecting the values of the time, where control over nature mirrored social and political power.