Plattegrond van Namen 1745

This is Mademoiselle Rameau's 'Plattegrond van Namen,' a plan of Namur, etched with meticulous detail. The city, a nexus of terrestrial and aquatic routes, presents a compelling visual metaphor. The plan is bisected by rivers, arteries of commerce and conflict, mirroring the ancient symbolic dichotomy of water: life-giving and destructive. Cities, like Namur, are born at the confluence of rivers. This is a primal urge, a deep-seated instinct harking back to our earliest settlements. We see a similar pattern in the layout of ancient Mesopotamia, cradled between the Tigris and Euphrates. Namur’s walls are not just defensive structures; they are an assertion of order against the chaos of the natural world. They echo the walls of Jericho, a symbol of mankind’s eternal quest for security and permanence, yet forever vulnerable to siege. The plan, a symbol of mankind’s eternal quest for security, is not merely a map, but an emotional and psychological landscape, engaging us on a deep, subconscious level. This pattern of city planning and fortification, the eternal interplay between man and nature, resurfaces, evolves, and takes on new meanings in different historical contexts.