Parklandschap met twee sfinxen 1677 - 1744

Isaac de Moucheron created this landscape with two sphinxes using etching. De Moucheron lived during a time when Europe was expanding its colonial reach, leading to a fascination with exoticism. Here, the sphinxes stand guard in a meticulously designed park, reflecting the era's fascination with control and order over nature. They are presented as decorative objects, stripped of their cultural and historical significance. Note how they stand as silent witnesses, embodying the complexities of cultural appropriation and the aestheticization of foreign symbols in a European context. The artist invites us to consider the power dynamics inherent in representation. The lush landscape, with its carefully placed figures, speaks to themes of social hierarchy and the idealized vision of leisure enjoyed by the elite. It prompts us to reflect on whose stories are being told and whose are being erased.