Boerderijen en een stal aan de voet van een heuvel met een molen 1773 - 1843

Georges Michel rendered this drawing of farm buildings and a windmill in pencil sometime before his death in 1843. It’s a humble material, pencil, but with it Michel was able to suggest a whole world of labor and industry. Notice how the pencil allows for delicate hatching to define the forms of the buildings and the windmill, and the textures of the surrounding fields. These techniques convey the physicality of rural life. The scene shows farm buildings, suggesting human intervention in the landscape. The windmill, a machine for harnessing natural power, hints at agricultural work and the conversion of raw materials into consumable products. The drawing style, with its emphasis on detail and close observation, can be seen as a reflection of the artist's engagement with the working world. Michel’s choice of subject and material elevates the everyday. It asks us to consider the value of skilled labor and the artistic potential found in the most common of subjects.