Mexico / Mauritiopolis / Mauritiopolis / Nieuw Amsterdam / S. Salvador / Bvones Aires / Capvt S. Avgustini / Boa Vista 1670 - 1672

Editor: This print, "Mexico / Mauritiopolis..." from 1670-1672, seems to be a compilation of cityscapes. It's striking how these very different places are presented with a similar visual language and almost cartographic intention. What’s your perspective on this piece? Curator: Ah, yes, an anonymous window into the world, quite literally framed! These aren't just pretty pictures; they're colonial power plays visualized. Notice how each cityscape emphasizes control - strategic viewpoints, ships dominating the harbors. Do you see it too? Editor: Definitely, it's like visual inventory. And there's something romantic, almost nostalgic about it, but… also imposing. Curator: Imposing, indeed! It’s that confident, Baroque gaze, flattening the world into digestible parcels of property. These engravings are documents and dreams; promotional material and projections of influence. Which locale draws your eye? Editor: The image of Nieuw Amsterdam (New York). I never imagined it looked so…compact. Like a very orderly village! Curator: It WAS, comparatively. Think of this print as a kind of 17th-century advertisement. Anonymous hands painting a global portrait of Dutch ambition, a tangible demonstration of worldwide connections… What do you make of the elaborate borders around each scene? Editor: Well, it makes me think of ornate picture frames - that almost domesticates the global landscape... a claim that says these locations are *ours*. It’s fascinating to unpack how something decorative can also function as a power statement. Curator: Precisely! Sometimes, the prettiest things are the most profoundly persuasive. We looked, we learned, we got wonderfully disturbed.