Fontein met stroomgoden 1560 - 1598

Editor: This etching, "Fountain with River Gods," from the late 16th century by Wendel Dietterlin, strikes me as incredibly elaborate and almost theatrical. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Ah, yes, Dietterlin. He really knew how to crank up the volume on Mannerism! I see a kind of playful architectural fantasy, not meant to be actually *built*, I suspect. These figures… well, they're less about classical serenity and more about this burgeoning Baroque sense of drama, don’t you think? I love the sort of slightly crazed energy. Editor: I agree about the drama! The river gods seem to be bursting out of their pedestals. What do you think Dietterlin was trying to convey with such an over-the-top design? Curator: Maybe he wanted to showcase ingenuity itself? Imagine being a 16th-century patron looking at this – it screams wealth, knowledge, and the ability to command nature! It is a complete fantasy and expression, the power of ideas taking over everything, and I find that very charming. Are you charmed? Editor: Definitely! I hadn't thought about the element of pure imagination. It's like a playground for the mind. Curator: Exactly! These weren’t simple instruction manuals. They fueled dreams, stirred ambitions. It makes you wonder what other fantasies people imagined during that period. Editor: That makes me look at it completely differently, thank you. It went from theatrical to an invitation to design an incredible fountain in my mind! Curator: That is what Mannerism does, it puts us, the viewer, in a different state of mind.