Skokloster Castle, Garden View — Swidde

A rare late 17th-century engraving of Skokloster Castle viewed from the side of its formal gardens, in elegant counterpoint to the better-known frontal aspect.

Original Latin title: Facies Splendidissimi Ornatissimique Palatii Skokloster, qua spectat amoenissimum Hortum, qui ei est adsitus. Engraved by Willem Swidde. From Suecia Antiqua et Hodierna. Published in Stockholm, 1693.

Skokloster's parterres, laid out beside Lake Mälaren, were among the most ambitious French-style gardens in 17th-century Sweden, although never completed in full. Swidde's plate, paired with the principal façade view by Dahlbergh, gives the castle a four-square completeness it never achieved on the ground.

Copperplate engraving. Sheet size approximately 35.0 × 50.0 cm. Very Good.