Plattegrond van Leiden 1632

Curator: We're looking at "Plattegrond van Leiden," a 1632 print residing at the Rijksmuseum, an anonymous depiction of the Dutch city. What strikes you about it? Editor: The intricate linework creates such an ordered feeling, almost a sense of calm. It’s geometric in its precision. The details in this engraving are exquisite, especially considering its age. Curator: That structured impression aligns with Leiden's history as a centre of trade and learning. Its organized grid reflects Dutch societal values emphasizing order, control, and a certain relationship to land use and engineering. Editor: The composition divides space in interesting ways. We have this clear distinction between the city inside and the landscape outside the canals, emphasizing its contained, almost fortified nature. Curator: Absolutely. The cityscape emerges during a period of major transformations within Leiden. Think about the waves of religious refugees welcomed there and how that affected everything, from labour to the creation of entirely new social fabrics. These prints were critical in solidifying a vision, sometimes propagandistic, of Dutch society. Editor: Propaganda isn't necessarily what springs to mind looking at it! But you are right to point out how these visual representations of places and spaces played a role in communicating a certain ideology. What do you take away from this work, then? Curator: Seeing this plattegrond, I can not help but feel how much urban spaces reflect and affect collective identity. How access or lack of access to city resources creates different trajectories, especially along lines of race, class and gender. And how can art help visualize the voices of those often left out of dominant historical narratives? Editor: And for me, considering just the formal decisions made, how lines, shapes, and visual balance all work together offers a way into considering what we value in urban spaces, even today.