The Villa Aldobrandini near Frascati c. 1783

Editor: This is Daniël Dupré’s "The Villa Aldobrandini near Frascati," from around 1783. It’s a delicate drawing, rendered in pen and ink. I’m immediately struck by how tranquil the scene feels. What resonates with you when you look at this piece? Curator: The overwhelming sense of calm you identify, I think, stems from the deep and interwoven layers of symbolic representation present in landscape imagery of the period. Landscapes such as this are never merely depictions of place. Dupré consciously or unconsciously evokes the Arcadian ideal. Do you see how the carefully placed villa anchors the scene? Editor: Yes, it’s like the whole landscape radiates from it. Curator: Precisely! The Villa, architecturally solid, symbolizes cultivated reason and order, ideas gaining prevalence during the Enlightenment. Surrounding this are gentle, rolling hills, symbolizing a harmonious relationship between humanity and nature, a classical notion deeply embedded in the collective consciousness of Europe since antiquity. Look, too, at the figures in the foreground. Editor: I see them – they seem to be shepherds maybe? Curator: Indeed. They act as reminders of a simpler, more virtuous pastoral existence that European elites imagined to represent. Dupré uses familiar tropes – landscape elements charged with pre-existing cultural meaning – to trigger a specific emotional response in his audience. Editor: That’s fascinating! So the landscape itself is a language? Curator: Exactly. A language that, even today, unconsciously shapes how we perceive and value certain places and ideas. Editor: I will definitely never look at landscape art the same way again. Thank you. Curator: My pleasure. Looking for symbols can lead us to surprising cultural continuities, even across centuries.