Interpretation
This view of an ornamental garden features a fountain, statues, live figures, and a distant mountainous landscape, undoubtedly inspired by De Moucheron’s sojourn in Italy in the late 1690s. After returning to his native Amsterdam, the artist specialized in painting fashionable mural decorations in the homes of wealthy patricians. These works created the illusion that the walls were broken through to reveal an imaginary space beyond. While most of these murals have disappeared, De Moucheron recorded what some of them looked like in prints such as this one, which prominently states in the central inscription that this “Zaal-stuck” (which roughly translates as the “work in the grand hall”) was located in the house of Mr. and Mrs. W. van Dam.
Information
- Title
- Ornamental Garden with Fountain
- Object Number
- 2018-245
- Maker
- Isaac de Moucheron
- Medium
- Etching
- Dimensions
- 33 × 44.4 cm (13 × 17 1/2 in.)
- Credit Line
- Bequest of Duane E. Wilder, Class of 1951
- Culture
- European
- Type
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