Titelpagina voor: Les Cinq Rangs De l'Architecture a Scavoir: Tuscane, Dorique, Ionique, Corinthiaque, et Composee, avec l'Instruction Fondamentale (...), 1620 1620

This title page for "Les Cinq Rangs De l'Architecture," created in 1620 by Hendrick Hondius I, presents more than just an introduction to architectural styles. Consider the emblematic figure in the lower cartouche. She represents architecture, surrounded by classical architectural elements. This motif echoes ancient depictions of the Liberal Arts, where Architecture stands alongside Geometry, Music, and Rhetoric. These figures, reaching back to classical antiquity, resurface throughout the Renaissance, each time embodying the intellectual and cultural values of the era. The recurrence of this allegorical figure speaks to a deep-seated human desire to personify abstract concepts, to make them tangible and relatable. In this way, Hondius’s title page is not merely a guide to architecture; it’s a potent reminder of the enduring power of symbols to traverse time and evoke collective cultural memory.