Plattegrond van tuin met vier compartimenten after 1703

This is an undated drawing entitled 'Plattegrond van tuin met vier compartimenten' - or 'Plan of garden with four compartments' - by an anonymous artist. It’s rendered in pen on paper and held in the Rijksmuseum. The rigid, symmetrical design and contained, compartmentalised spaces offer a window into the dominant cultural values and class structures of the time. Gardens like this were status symbols, reflecting control over nature. Consider how such spaces might have been experienced differently based on one's position in society. For the elite, it was a private sanctuary. For the working class, it was an inaccessible domain, a symbol of exclusion. The plan’s geometric precision, so different from nature’s wildness, speaks to a desire to impose order. Yet, within each section, there is also a striving towards beauty through the decorative flourishes of the flower beds. The drawing therefore encapsulates the contradictions of its time – the desire for control and beauty. How does the artist capture this tension?