A magnificent series of detailed views of the house and gardens at Rosendael, in the Veluwe near Arnhem. The shape of the gardens at Rosendael were modernized by Baron Johan van Arnhem (1636-1717). He turned it into one of the most sumptuous stately houses and gardens of the late 17th century, and also regularly invited his friend, the Dutch Stadhouder and King of England William III (1650-1702), to stay there. The present collection is the first print series fully depicting this still existing estate.
Pieter Schenk I (1660-1711) originally published the present views in his 1702 Paridisus Oculorum, together with print series of The Loo, Dieren, Voorst, Duinrel and the "Praetorium" of the Swedish King. The six parts were also issued separately with the dedications to the owners also serving as title-pages. Hollstein supposes that all six parts first appeared individually and soon after together with the collective title and contents, but the literature does not distinguish the two printings or notes differing states in the plates.
The main palace of Rosendael was built in 1616, but after the estate came to Johan van Arnhem by marriage in 1667, he added some buildings. He devoted most of his attention to the gardens and waterworks, however, with their extensive cascades, fountains and statuary. The architect Jacob Pietersz. Roman (1640-1716) appears to have been responsible for much of the work on the gardens. The general title-page to the six parts of the Paradisus Oculorum gives the impression that he made the drawings, but those for Rosendael are elsewhere attributed to Jan van Call the elder (1656-1706). Although the palace survives, the gardens were revised several times in the 18th century and given a wholly new layout in 1837, so that the present views form an important record of their early form. The great tower, the only surviving part of the estate's mediaeval castle, is the largest of its kind in the Netherlands.
The leaves are slightly browned around the edges, with a few small brown stains on some of the leaves. Otherwise in very good condition. The Anglo-Dutch Garden 73 & pp. 188-191; Hollstein (Dutch & Flemish), XXV, p. 293; Springer, Bibl. Overzicht, pp. 43-44; STCN 304482188 (4 copies); Tiele, Bibl. 966; Wurzbach II, pp. 574-577.