Gezicht op de Hackescher Markt in Berlijn 1781

This print, "Gezicht op de Hackescher Markt in Berlijn," was created by Johann Georg Rosenberg in the eighteenth century. The composition immediately strikes you with its emphasis on linear perspective, guiding the eye towards the distant steeple. Rosenberg meticulously delineates architectural forms with precise lines, constructing a world governed by reason and order. The figures, carefully placed, animate the scene without disrupting the underlying structure. In terms of semiotics, buildings and people become signs within the larger system of urban life. What is interesting here is the destabilization of established categories. The print appears to serve as a straightforward representation of Berlin's Hackescher Markt. However, the level of detail and the rigorous application of perspective suggest a deeper engagement with the philosophical ideas of the Enlightenment, questioning fixed meanings and engaging with new ways of thinking about space and representation.