Groepsportret van een onbekende man, twee vrouwen en een kind in een tuin c. 1865 - 1900

This photograph by Laurens Lodewijk Kleijn captures a family within the verdant embrace of a garden. The garden, a familiar symbol, is a testament to the human desire to cultivate and control nature. Historically, the enclosed garden has represented paradise, the Garden of Eden, a space of innocence and harmony. Yet, look closer, and one sees that the cultivated garden also symbolizes the human intellect imposing order upon the wild, untamed world. Consider how in medieval tapestries, the garden, or "hortus conclusus," often appears, symbolizing purity and spiritual retreat. Here, the family's presence in the garden might suggest their own aspirations for a harmonious existence, a haven from the outside world. The garden is not merely a backdrop but an active participant in the narrative of human longing and the eternal quest for paradise regained. A theme of profound psychological resonance that reappears through history.