Stadsplein met fontein gelegen in een berglandschap 1833 - 1880

Auguste Numans created this print of a ‘City Square with a Fountain in a Mountainous Landscape’ sometime during his lifetime, between 1823 and 1883. During this period, European society was rapidly changing due to industrialization and urbanization. Numans, working as a printmaker, captured scenes that reflected both the aspirations and the anxieties of this era. City squares became symbolic spaces, representing progress, civic pride, and social order. Consider the fountain, a central element, as a symbol of life and renewal but also of control, as water is directed and shaped by human design. This control extends to the depiction of people in the square. Note how individuals are neatly arranged, suggesting an idealized vision of society where everyone has their place. The natural landscape serves as a backdrop, a reminder of the sublime power of nature against which human endeavors seem both significant and fragile. How do you feel when viewing this constructed vision of urban life against the backdrop of the natural world?