Acklam in Cleveland in the County of Yorke, plate 64 from Britannia Illustrata Possibly 1707

Johannes Kip created this engraving of Acklam Hall in Cleveland in the County of Yorke. The most striking aspect of the composition is the geometric layout of the gardens and grounds, which speak volumes about the desire to impose order on nature, a recurring motif in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. These gardens are a visual echo of the hanging gardens of Babylon, a human attempt to recapture Paradise lost, the Garden of Eden. Yet, this ideal, this taming of nature, this obsession with perfect symmetry, can be traced all the way back to ancient Persia, a projection of power and control. Even the very act of cultivation hints at the human desire to shape the world, reflecting a deeper psychological need to control our environment, and therefore our destiny. This motif of the formal garden carries with it a collective memory, an echo of humanity's perennial quest for harmony and control. We are constantly revisiting and revising the visual language of our ancestors.