Buitenplaats Hofwijck te Voorburg 1653 - 1672

This anonymous print depicts the Buitenplaats Hofwijck, showcasing a formal garden layout. Notice the obelisks, vertical monuments that command attention, symbols that resonate through time. The obelisk, originating in ancient Egypt as a symbol of the sun god Ra, marked sacred spaces and commemorated pharaohs' power. It reappears throughout history, in ancient Rome and beyond, adapted and re-contextualized. Here, the monument of stone has shifted in function from religious icon to secular emblem of cultivated taste, an aesthetic symbol of worldly power. Reflect upon how such vertical markers tap into our collective memory, triggering a subconscious awe and aspiration. This interplay between past and present, sacred and secular, is the enduring power of the obelisk, engaging viewers across centuries.