Landschap met bomen en een molen c. 1909s

Editor: Here we have Alexander Shilling's "Landschap met bomen en een molen," or "Landscape with trees and a mill," a pencil drawing on paper from around the 1909s. It feels very gestural, a quick sketch, almost like a memory being captured. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Immediately, I’m struck by the windmill itself. A windmill signifies so many things, doesn’t it? A symbol of industry, sure, but also of human ambition against the forces of nature. Think of Don Quixote tilting at windmills! Shilling isn’t giving us a triumphant monument; instead it’s a humble structure nestled within the landscape. The sketched quality makes me wonder what sort of emotional or psychological weight this symbol has here. Do you get any sense of that? Editor: I do, especially the way the trees seem almost like protective figures looming over it. It feels almost melancholic. Curator: Precisely! Consider that in folklore, trees often represent shelter, family, the continuity of generations. Are these the keepers of history? In this way, the mill itself also serves as more than just industry, no? A memory, almost faded, and one could view this landscape as an exploration of memory and continuity within nature itself. A grounding of sorts, in an uncertain world. Editor: I never would have thought of the trees as keepers, but it gives a whole new layer to it! Thanks! Curator: Of course. Paying attention to our visual language reveals those deeply seeded connections that might otherwise be missed!