Truncated View of the Broekzijder Mill on the Gein, Wings Facing West

"Truncated View of the Broekzijder Mill on the Gein, Wings Facing West" by Piet Mondrian is an evocative early landscape painting, executed in oil on canvas mounted on cardboard, dated to c. 1902–03 or earlier. This work belongs to a significant period when the artist focused intensely on the naturalistic representation of the Dutch countryside, often choosing motifs near the river Gein, southeast of Amsterdam, where he maintained a studio.

The composition utilizes a tight, focused perspective indicated by the title's reference to a "truncated view." Mondrian minimizes the surrounding landscape, centering the piece on the vertical mass of the mill and the dramatic horizontal geometry of its westward-facing wings. The rendering captures the sturdy architecture of the Broekzijder Mill, executed with careful attention to tonal variation and atmosphere, reflecting the prevailing academic style of the era before Mondrian’s experimentation with Cubism and, ultimately, Neo-Plasticism.

The decision to mount the canvas on cardboard suggests the compact and sometimes immediate nature of painting done en plein air. Although this style is rooted firmly in representational art, the stark structural qualities and the near-abstract play of lines evident in the mill’s vanes foreshadow the artist’s later dedication to pure form. This painting offers essential insight into the foundational visual language that informed the development of one of modern art's most influential figures.

This canvas is preserved within the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Due to its historical significance, high-resolution prints of important works such as Truncated View of the Broekzijder Mill on the Gein, Wings Facing West are often made available through public domain initiatives, ensuring widespread access for researchers and enthusiasts studying Mondrian’s formative years.