De Nederlandse hovenier 1672

Curator: This print, dating from 1672, is titled "The Dutch Gardener" ("De Nederlandse Hovenier"). Frederik Bouttats the Younger created this engraving. We see an illustration promoting garden design. Editor: The crisp detail achieved through the engraving is immediately striking. There is such a pleasing, ordered quality to the composition—almost theatrical, like a stage set. Curator: Exactly! And considering it's an engraving, the production process would involve a skilled artisan meticulously carving lines into a metal plate, typically copper. It served a functional purpose, being an advertisement or title page for a gardening book offering patterns and layouts. Mass production techniques made it accessible, indicative of a growing interest in horticulture and landscape design among the rising merchant class. Editor: So it’s about accessibility. The landscape behind is manicured within an inch of its life, a real vision of cultivated nature… and beyond that, the architecture is pretty fascinating too. It all feels impossibly... proper! Does the inclusion of the riders suggest anything about movement? Or freedom, compared to what the garden represents? Curator: Perhaps a bit of aspirational mobility. But, critically, we see the Dutch embrace the manipulation of the natural landscape into something commercially consumable, showcasing the fruits – or should I say, the flowers – of industrious labor and design principles. Editor: Very good point about design as labor. It changes my view of it completely. Well, this has given me a newfound appreciation for not only gardens, but also the labor inherent in presenting art, in making it palatable for wider circles. Curator: I think examining its construction and purpose gives you a more holistic understanding of the image, yes.