Plattegrond van de tuin van kardinaal Ludovico Ludovisi 1683

Giovanni Battista Falda made this print of the garden of Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi in Rome, sometime in the late 17th century. It's rendered in ink on paper using the intaglio process, where lines are incised into a metal plate, inked, and then pressed onto the paper. The striking thing is how Falda combines the precision of architectural drawing with the atmospheric effects of landscape. Look closely, and you see the texture of the foliage, rendered with a careful accumulation of tiny strokes. Then step back, and notice the extreme geometry of the garden’s layout, literally imposing order on nature. Consider the labor required to not only produce this image, but to maintain the garden itself. Formal gardens like these were statements of power, enabled by capital and maintained by workers who are conspicuously absent from the scene. This print allows us to appreciate the artistry both of its maker, and of the many unnamed gardeners who enacted this vision in real space.