Images(2)

Optique, Garden Print

DateCa. 1740 ?

OriginEurope, Germany

MediumHand colored line engravings, cut out to produce a depth effect.

DimensionsOH: 3 1/4" OW: 5 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1950-643,4

DescriptionOptique, garden print. A very formal garden is depicted in this set of prints Fountains with statuary, hedges trimmed to arches etc. are shown, as well a people in elegant dress strolling in them. The effect of this is created by t ing several copies of a print and cutting them out in sections. When set up th small spaces between, a great depth is created.Label TextThis model theater is a variation on perspective views that grew out of the German paper toy tradition. A series of small, related prints were placed in successive order with slight spaces in between to create a three-dimensional view that was often used to tell stories. This example depicts a formal garden where people in elegant dress stroll between ornate fountains and trimmed hedgerows. Gardens with similar ornamentation were popular among the English nobility as they provided outdoor rooms for discussing business or staging parties. Queen Elizabeth I began a tradition of hosting garden parties that is still practiced today.ProvenanceBefore 1950, F. & G. Staack (Camden, ME); 1950-present, purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).