Elevation Perspective of l'Hôtel de Ville, Rennes n.d.

Philippe-Nicolas Milcent made this print of the Hôtel de Ville in Rennes, France, using etching and engraving techniques. It presents an idealised view of civic space. The print shows more than just a building; it depicts a whole social environment, in which the ruling classes conduct their business. Note the figures of citizens, carriages and horses, all dwarfed by the scale of the architecture. Rennes was devastated by a fire in 1720 and rebuilt in a neoclassical style. Milcent's print shows the Hôtel de Ville presiding over a newly planned public square, a symbol of civic order and progress in the age of enlightenment. The emphasis on symmetry, the measured recession of space, and classical motifs, all communicate values of reason and control. These kinds of images played an important role in the projection of power. Historians look at town plans, architectural drawings, and other records of visual culture, to better understand the intentions that shaped them. They also consider the social and political consequences of the changes they brought about.