The Water Mill
Artist: Meindert Hobbema (Dutch, 1638-1709)
Date: 1664
Dimensions:
H: 37 3/8 in. (94.9 cm); W: 51 13/16 in. (131.7 cm)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1967.157
Label Text:Meyndert Hobbema was the student of Jacob van Ruisdael and many of his images and motifs, including that of a watermill, come from his teacher’s work (see a painting by Van Ruisdael nearby in this gallery). However, unlike Van Ruisdael, who painted many different kinds of landscapes, Hobbema specialized in forest scenes. In this painting the watermill seems to have grown into the forest that surrounds it. A wild stand of trees in the middle of the painting separates it from the farmland and distant village on the left side of the painting. The golden fields contrast with the deeper tones of the trees and pond that take up most of the composition. The low horizon line and dramatic, cloud-filled sky are typical of Dutch landscape painting.
On view
In Collection(s)