Rechthoekig bassin met Ionische zuil 1664

This engraving depicts a fountain within a rectangular basin, crowned by an Ionic column. The anonymous creation reflects the ornate garden designs favored by European aristocracy. The checkerboard tiling and classical column root the image in European visual culture. The fountain is centrally positioned, topped by a crown, it is clearly intended to impress. Fountains like this one were expensive status symbols. The engraving would have circulated as a design template, aiding the spread of elite taste. Understanding this image requires a look at the history of garden design, treatises on architecture, and the social rituals of aristocratic life. These resources bring us closer to the social world in which this image, and the fountains it depicts, once held significance.