Gezicht op het Klooster van de ongeschoeide karmelietessen, te Brussel 1727 - 1734

Reynier Blokhuysen created this print of the Barefoot Carmelite Monastery in Brussels. Note the imposing architectural presence of the monastery, which dominates the city and landscape around it. Consider the motif of enclosure here. The high walls and geometric arrangement of gardens speak to the spiritual concept of separation from the earthly world. Enclosed gardens have appeared across cultures and religions as symbols for the divine, from ancient Persian paradise gardens to the cloisters of medieval monasteries. The enclosed monastery represents a sacred space, protected and separated, a concept echoing in the collective subconscious desire for purity. Its ordered design invites reflection on how we use our symbolic vocabulary to create spaces of meaning and emotional refuge. How do our architectural and garden designs become a language of the soul?