The Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede
A great tower windmill on the river Lek at Wijk bij Duurstede — the mill still stands on the town wall.
'Rijn en Lek' windmill, Wijk bij Duurstede
The painting shows a real, identified place that you can find today. The exact spot the artist worked from is not necessarily known.
The Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede — at a glance
- Artist
- Jacob van Ruisdael (c. 1628–1682)
- Year
- c. 1668–1670
- Movement
- Dutch Golden Age
- Place
- Wijk bij Duurstede, on the river Lek, the Netherlands
- Viewpoint
- The tower mill on the town wall by the river — a mill still stands on the spot; elements rearranged
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- c. 83 × 101 cm
- Now at
- Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Overview
The Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede is the most famous landscape by Jacob van Ruisdael and one of the best-known of all Dutch paintings. Made about 1668–70, it shows a massive brick tower windmill rising over the river Lek, with a huge cloudy sky, a few small figures on the near bank and the town's castle and church tower in the distance. It is oil on canvas, about 83 by 101 cm, and it hangs in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Where was The Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede painted?
Museum interpretation Wijk bij Duurstede is a small town on the river Lek, south-east of Utrecht. Its tower windmill stands on the town's defensive wall, straddling a gate — an unusual arrangement that still exists. The present mill, Rijn en Lek, is a replacement of the one Ruisdael painted but occupies the same spot on the wall by the river, and the castle ruin and the church tower are still there. Ruisdael rearranged the elements somewhat, moving the church and castle for effect, so the painting is a composed portrait of the town rather than an exact survey.
How we know
- Ruisdael's real, still-standing tower mill; the town / canal / river targets are broader.
What is in the painting?
The windmill fills the right half of the picture, its cap and sails turned to catch the wind, its brick tower catching the sunlight. Below it the river Lek runs from the right, with a sailing boat on the water. On the near bank three women in dark dress walk towards the viewer. In the distance, low against the horizon, are the round tower of the castle and the church. Above everything, a sky of piled grey and white cloud with sunlight breaking through fills two-thirds of the canvas.
Look closely
The mill on the wall
The tower stands on the town's defensive wall over a gate — the arrangement that still exists at Wijk bij Duurstede.
The shaft of sunlight
A break in the cloud throws light onto the brick tower and sails, making the mill glow against the grey sky.
The three women
Small dark figures walk towards the viewer along the near bank, giving the mill its scale.
Castle and church
The round castle tower and the church stand low on the horizon — moved from their true positions by Ruisdael.
The sailing boat
A single boat is on the Lek, which was a working river.
Analysis
Composition & perspective
The mill is placed off-centre and made monumental against a low horizon and an enormous, active sky.
Scholarship Ruisdael sets the mill high and to the right, silhouetted against bright cloud, and keeps the land and water to a narrow strip so the sky dominates. The diagonal of the riverbank and the walking figures lead in from the left; the distant castle and church give scale and depth.
Colour and light
Warm sunlit brick against cool grey cloud, with a shaft of light singling out the mill.
The palette is restrained — brown brick, grey-green water, grey and white sky — but Ruisdael lets a break in the cloud throw sunlight onto the mill tower and the sails, making it glow against the storm-coloured sky.
Meaning and interpretation
Interpretations differ. What the artist documented, what museums and scholars propose, and later or speculative theories are marked and kept separate.
The mill as emblem
The windmill — pumping water, grinding grain, standing firm on the town wall against the weather — has often been read as an image of Dutch industry and resilience. Ruisdael gives it the grandeur of a monument.
A portrait of a place, rearranged
Scholars note that Ruisdael shifted the church and castle from their true positions to strengthen the design; the picture is a considered image of the town, not a topographic record.
History & provenance
The painting entered the Dutch national collection in the nineteenth century and is one of the central works of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Sources
- Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam — collection entry for Jacob van Ruisdael, ‘The Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede’ (c. 1668–70; oil on canvas, c. 83 × 101 cm)
- Seymour Slive, ‘Jacob van Ruisdael: Master of Landscape’ (2005)
Frequently asked
Does the windmill still exist?
A windmill still stands on the same spot — on the town wall by the river Lek at Wijk bij Duurstede, straddling a gate. The present mill, Rijn en Lek, is a later replacement of the one Ruisdael painted.
Where is Wijk bij Duurstede?
A small town on the river Lek, south-east of Utrecht in the central Netherlands.
Is the view accurate?
Broadly. Ruisdael moved the church and castle from their real positions to improve the composition, so it is a composed portrait of the town rather than an exact survey. The mill's position on the wall is real.
Why is the sky so large?
Ruisdael keeps the land and water to a thin strip and gives two-thirds of the canvas to piled cloud, with a shaft of sunlight singling out the mill — the classic Dutch landscape balance.
Where is the painting now?
In the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Related paintings
More by Jacob van Ruisdael
The Jewish Cemetery
View of Haarlem with Bleaching Fields
