View of Two Watermills c. 1650 - 1700

Jacob van Ruisdael rendered this View of Two Watermills with pen and brown ink, as well as gray wash, in the 17th Century. His choice to depict mills speaks to the Netherlands' economic and cultural investment in technology. While Ruisdael is known for his idealized landscapes, here he subtly captures the working life of the mills, gesturing to the social and economic structures of the time. His landscapes weren't merely pretty pictures; they reflected the shifting relationship between the Dutch people and their land. "I paint the world as I see it," Ruisdael supposedly once said, "not as it is." While this drawing may appear documentary, there is a deep sense of the artist's internal world, a feeling of connection to the land. The mills are still, but the implied motion of the water and machinery speaks to human intervention. Ultimately, Ruisdael's drawing blends objective observation with subjective feeling, mirroring the intertwined relationship between humanity and the environment that continues to shape our world today.