Gezicht op de Dom in Utrecht 1697

This etching, "Gezicht op de Dom in Utrecht," was made by Jan van Vianen, circa late 17th to early 18th century. The artist uses line and form to create a meticulously detailed view of the Utrecht Cathedral. The composition is sharply divided, with the architectural mass of the cathedral balanced against the slender verticality of the Dom tower. The artist uses linear perspective, but here it serves more to dissect the architectural forms into discrete components than to unify the space. This almost structuralist approach—disassembling and reassembling the scene—invites us to consider the cathedral not merely as a unified, aesthetic whole, but as a collection of architectural signs. Consider the banner unfurled at the top, and the procession of horse-drawn carriages below, which add layers of social and historical context, framing the cathedral within a semiotic field of power and representation. Van Vianen uses formalism to provide an early modern interpretation of place and meaning.