Inname van het kasteel van Wouw bij Bergen op Zoom, 1605 1605

This is Baptista van Doetechum's engraving, "Inname van het kasteel van Wouw bij Bergen op Zoom, 1605," created around that year. The monochrome print presents a bird's-eye view of the siege with a castle in the center, surrounded by orderly siege lines, military encampments, and explanatory text boxes along the margins. The formal structure is dominated by geometric shapes and precise lines delineating fortifications and troop placements. The castle, centrally positioned, is rendered with considerable detail, emphasizing its architectural form. The siege is meticulously planned. The aerial perspective flattens the landscape, turning the theater of war into a diagrammatic representation of power and control. The ordered lines and geometric precision highlight an effort to impose order on the chaotic reality of warfare. Each element, from the fortified walls to the placement of troops, is encoded within this system, suggesting a calculated strategy to assert authority and mastery. The cool precision with which Doetechum depicts the siege challenges established meanings, offering instead a view of war as a rational, almost mathematical undertaking.