Poort en vijver in het park van Enghien 1685

Romeyn de Hooghe created this print of the gate and pond in the park of Enghien, likely around the turn of the 18th century. De Hooghe offers a glimpse into the leisure and landscape design of the period. But it's also an artifact of print culture and the institutions of art. Engravings like this circulated widely in the Dutch Republic, contributing to public discourse and shaping perceptions of status, taste, and place. The formal garden, with its ordered nature and classical allusions, reflects a desire for control and the imposition of human will on the environment. Consider how the figures are arranged, gazing out and drawing us into this constructed vista. The architectural framing of the scene invites us to see it as a stage set for elite social life. Prints such as this were not simply descriptive; they actively participated in constructing ideas about national identity and cultural achievement. Understanding this print, therefore, requires us to investigate the social history of landscape design, printmaking, and the public sphere in the Dutch Republic. Resources like period travelogues, garden design manuals, and inventories of print collections can help reconstruct this world.