Uitzicht vanaf slot Salsta 1694

Willem Swidde made this print, "View from Salsta Castle," using etching techniques, sometime before his death in 1697. The image depicts a formal garden stretching from an elevated terrace towards a distant building complex. The rigid geometry and careful planning of the grounds speak to the social hierarchies of 17th-century Sweden, a period when aristocratic power was visually asserted through landscape design. But such images also played an important role within the history of printmaking. Pictures like this one testify to the rise of a commercial market for topographical views and architectural studies in the Netherlands and Sweden. Etchings circulated widely, informing ideas about taste, design, and social status. Understanding the context requires delving into the history of landscape architecture, the economics of print production, and the social function of aristocratic display during this time. By looking at estate records, design books, and the inventories of print sellers, we can better understand the world that made this image possible.