Plan of a Hotel and Garden 1680 - 1730

Editor: This is an intriguing architectural drawing from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection, called "Plan of a Hotel and Garden," dating from 1680 to 1730, created by an anonymous artist using print and drawing media. It looks like a blueprint of sorts for a very elaborate garden and estate. How do you interpret this work? Curator: I see a physical manifestation of power and social hierarchy meticulously laid out on paper. This isn't just a garden; it’s a carefully constructed landscape designed to project status and control. The geometric precision and ordered nature, wouldn't you agree, reflects the desire to control nature itself. What statements do you think these curated landscapes made about the relationship between humanity and the natural world at the time? Editor: Well, it looks like they valued dominating it, shaping nature to human designs rather than coexisting with it! Curator: Precisely. Consider who had access to these spaces. Land ownership during that era, didn't it define privilege? These gardens served as stages for social performance, exclusive realms removed from the realities of labor that sustained them. Moreover, architectural renderings such as this represent not just a design, but also reflect an aesthetic rooted in colonialism, think of the forced labor necessary to implement them! How much of what is beautiful and sublime in Art is supported by structural inequity? Editor: That's something to consider. I never looked at landscape art with an eye on political agendas before, that gardens such as these weren’t just about aesthetics but also economics and exploitation. Thank you. Curator: Understanding context is key to enriching our understanding. Hopefully, that will also allow for creating an art history of the future which considers a wide variety of intersectional topics.