The Windmill

The Windmill is a superb example of graphic art created by Rembrandt van Rijn in 1641. This iconic image, rendered through the exacting technique of etching on laid paper, demonstrates the artist’s mastery of line and tone in the medium of printmaking. Created during the height of the Dutch Golden Age, this work reflects the economic and cultural flourishing characteristic of the period between 1601 to 1650. Rijn was renowned for his innovation in print, treating the copper plate with the same experimental spirit he reserved for his paintings.

The subject centers on a solitary windmill, a familiar and vital structure within the Dutch landscape. Rijn uses delicate lines and dense cross-hatching to define the structure against the sky, creating a dramatic sense of scale and atmosphere. The focus is not simply topographical, but atmospheric; the contrast between deep shadow and the illuminated tower is characteristic of the artist’s approach, allowing the white of the paper to function as the primary source of light. This composition, while intimate in scale, conveys the profound relationship between the land and the industry of the Dutch people.

As a highly influential print from the artist’s extensive oeuvre, the original impression of this etching is preserved in the prestigious collection of the National Gallery of Art. Rijn’s graphic works, highly influential during his lifetime and subsequently, secured his position as one of the great printmakers in history. Due to the historical nature of the printing process, many high-quality studies and secondary prints of this work are available today, circulating widely through museum initiatives supporting the public domain. This continued accessibility ensures that this seminal etching remains central to the study of 17th-century European art.