Jacob Isaacksz. van Ruisdael
Water mill near a farm
c. 1660
old masters
It is almost impossible to paint the foaming water by the wheel of a water mill, but perhaps that is just why Ruisdael wanted to try. It took skill to give a motionless picture the semblance of motion. The 19th-century painter Constable called it incredibly ‘clear and fresh’, a landscape where it has just stopped raining. ‘It haunts my mind, and clings to my heart.’
