Gezicht op de tuin bij het Palazzo del Quirinale 1683

This is Giovanni Battista Falda's print of the garden at the Palazzo del Quirinale. Dominating the scene is the formal garden. The Renaissance garden is an enduring symbol of mankind’s attempt to impose order on nature. The gardens are geometrically arranged, reflecting a deep-seated need for control, a motif that reappears across cultures and epochs, from the gardens of Versailles to Japanese Zen gardens. The garden’s geometric precision resonates with the labyrinthine structures of the human mind, evoking a sense of both containment and exploration. Note the labyrinthine layout, evoking a sense of wandering and the search for meaning. In ancient Crete, the labyrinth was the prison of the Minotaur; it represents a journey into the unknown. This quest, etched into our collective memory, connects us to primordial anxieties and the human yearning for understanding. The formal garden, like the labyrinth, engages us on a subconscious level. This print provides a powerful visual metaphor of the human condition.