The Windmill

1641

Not on view

Rembrandt depicted the boundary between city and countryside. The print shows the so-called Little Stink Mill, an actual windmill that stood on the De Passeerde bulwark along the city wall that ran down the west side of Amsterdam. The mill was owned by the Leathermakers Guild and its nickname derived from its activity of softening tanned leather by treating it with cod liver oil. Rembrandt traced the mill and its surroundings in such detail that it seems likely he began the print on site and then finished it in the studio. Visible in the sky are diagonal striations that result from his having brushed acid over the surface of the printing plate for effect, and craquelure was more likely the result of an accident that occurred as the plate was being bitten by the acid.

Artwork Details

Title: The Windmill
Artist: Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) (Dutch, Leiden 1606–1669 Amsterdam)
Date: 1641
Medium: Etching, with touches of drypoint
Dimensions: Sheet: 5 7/8 x 8 5/16 in. (15 x 21.1 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Gift of Felix M. Warburg and his family, 1941
Object Number: 41.1.12
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Abraham Casting out Hagar and Ishmael, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Etching with touches of drypoint — Abraham Casting out Hagar and Ishmael
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
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St. Jerome Reading, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Etching — St. Jerome Reading
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Return of the Prodigal Son, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Etching, pen and ink — Return of the Prodigal Son
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
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St. Jerome in Prayer, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Etching — St. Jerome in Prayer
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
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Portrait of Lieven Willemsz van Coppenol, Writing Master (the larger plate), Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Etching and drypoint; fourth state — Portrait of Lieven Willemsz van Coppenol, Writing Master (the larger plate)
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