Targhe ed altri ornati di varie e capricciose invenzioni (Cartouches and other ornaments of various and capricious invention, page 22) 1773

This etching is plate 22 from Hans Vredeman de Vries's series, "Cartouches and other ornaments of various and capricious invention," dating back to the late 16th century. De Vries was working during the Northern Renaissance, a time when artists were fascinated with classical forms, and also by the possibilities afforded by mathematical perspective. The print displays an elaborate cartouche design—an ornamental frame intended to hold an image or text. Intertwined within the design are military motifs like quivers of arrows, ribbons and a female head at the bottom. These images are not simply decorative, but symbolic, possibly alluding to power, virtue, or even triumph. De Vries’s cartouches catered to the elite class, who would have used these designs to express their status, aspirations and identities. The symmetry and detail speak to a desire for order, but the 'capricious invention' he mentions in the title also hints at the creative freedom artists enjoyed during this period. This work asks us to consider how images, even seemingly decorative ones, are deeply embedded in social hierarchies.