Tip: move over the painting to use the lens.
The Watermill with the Great Red Roof
Meindert Hobbema · c. 1665
- Artist
- Meindert Hobbema (Dutch, 1638–1709)
- Date
- c. 1665
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 81.3 × 110 cm (32 × 43 1/4 in.); Framed: 101.3 × 130.5 × 8.3 cm (39 7/8 × 51 3/8 × 3 1/4 in.)
- Made in
- Holland
- Style
- Realism
- Where to see it
- Art Institute of Chicago
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Frank G. Logan · CC0 Public Domain · Art Institute of Chicago · image via Wikimedia Commons · see it at the museum ↗
Notes from the museum
A pupil of Jacob van Ruisdael , Meindert Hobbema often borrowed motifs from his teacher, such as the watermill seen here. Watermills, which Hobbema employed more than 30 times in his paintings and which abounded along country waterways, would have been understood as symbols of human transience and Dutch industriousness. The well-dressed figures farther along the path at the left are intended to suggest the rewards of productivity and diligence.
Text: Art Institute of Chicago (open access). Our full story for this work is coming soon.
Slow Look
- The whole picture Let your eyes wander. Where do they want to rest?
- The light Find the brightest spot. What is it showing you?
- The edges Look at what is half cut off at the borders.
- One small detail Choose one tiny thing and stay with it for a while.
- The whole picture again Step back. Has it changed for you?
About Meindert Hobbema
Meindert Lubbertszoon Hobbema was a Dutch Golden Age painter of landscapes, specializing in views of woodland, although his most famous painting, The Avenue at Middelharnis, shows a different type of scene.
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