Illustratie voor 'Den Arbeid van Mars' van Allain Manesson Mallet 1672

This illustration of the Fort of Mussy was made by Romeyn de Hooghe, likely in the late 17th century, and was intended for Allain Manesson Mallet’s book on military engineering. The illustration gives a bird’s eye view of the fort, as well as a technical plan. De Hooghe was a key figure in the cultural life of the Dutch Golden Age. He produced prints and illustrations for books, but was also known for political caricatures, many of which were critical of Louis XIV's France. The book it accompanied reflected the intense militarization of European society at this time, when new institutions were being developed to train military engineers and strategists, and books like this were part of that. The image presents the fort as a feat of geometric design, and so it invites us to think about the aesthetics of military power. To fully understand images like this, we need to consult multiple sources and understand the institutional context that produced them.