'Oude Vier' van de Amsterdamse roeivereniging Nereus tijdens de Varsity van 1893 in Haarlem 1893

This photograph by Hendrik Herman van den Berg captures the ‘Oude Vier’ rowing team of Amsterdam’s Nereus rowing club during the Varsity in Haarlem, 1893. The windmill looms large in the composition. As a symbol, the windmill is not merely a practical device for grinding grain or draining water, but represents human labor, progress, and our relationship with nature. Consider this: the motion of the windmill's sails can be compared to the wheel of Fortune, an ancient symbol of fate and destiny. Throughout history, the wheel appears in various guises—from the Buddhist Dharma wheel to the alchemical rota. Its cyclical nature speaks to the eternal recurrence of life, death, and rebirth. As you gaze at the image, ask yourself, what winds of change, what turns of fortune, are subtly implied by the presence of this ever-turning structure?