Spring 1580

Editor: This print, "Spring" by Johann Sadeler I, seems to capture an entire community preparing for the growing season. It feels very orderly, almost staged. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The order you perceive speaks volumes. Gardens like this were not merely for food; they symbolized a cultivated, civilized world, a humanist ideal. Notice how the central figure, likely Flora, embodies this ideal, presiding over a tamed, productive landscape. Editor: So, the garden isn't just a practical space but a symbolic one? Curator: Precisely! It's a microcosm reflecting a larger cultural aspiration to control and perfect nature, reflecting a specific worldview of the time. What feelings does that generate for you? Editor: I had not considered the ambition behind it. It makes me look at the print in an entirely different light. Curator: Indeed, it is full of symbols of its time.