Stadt mit Windmühle und Baumreihe 

Otto Scholderer created this light pencil drawing of a townscape, featuring a windmill and a row of trees. The windmill, a symbol of human ingenuity harnessing the power of nature, often represents the cycle of life. Consider its presence in Dutch Golden Age paintings, where it signified prosperity and industriousness. Yet, venture further back, and you’ll find the wheel, a motif of cyclical time and fate, in ancient mythologies. In some contexts, it appears as the “Wheel of Fortune,” reminding us of the unpredictable nature of existence. The tree, with its roots drawing from the earth and branches reaching to the sky, acts as an axis mundi, connecting the earthly and divine. Throughout history, this symbol has served as a representation of knowledge and life, echoing through the collective memory of humankind. Even in our modern era, these symbols resonate, tapping into our deepest cultural understanding and stirring a sense of continuity across generations.