The Windmill (reverse copy)
Original title: The Windmill (reverse copy)
kurzbeschreibung
A windmill dominates the sheet, with a house and other buildings visible behind it. This is a reverse copy after a 17th-century etching by Rembrandt.
Description
Fine lines work out the windmill in the foreground in detail; wooden posts and sails stand out clearly. To one side stands a house with a tiled roof, while trees and buildings suggest the background. Gray tones with graduated shading structure the monochrome image and create a sense of depth. In the upper left is a handwritten inscription with the artist's name and the year 1641.
Context
As a reverse copy, the sheet goes back to an original by Rembrandt from around 1641. Such reprints served in the 17th century to circulate works and to study techniques. Neither the exact date of production nor the copyist is recorded. The print was made on a trimmed sheet of 14.6 × 20.9 cm.
Impact
The size and richness of detail in the mill immediately draw the eye. The restrained gray scale gives the sheet a calm, graphic effect that emphasizes the landscape view.
Technique
Etched lines bite into a metal plate and transfer as an intaglio print onto the paper; delicate strokes form the wooden structure of the mill and the shading of the landscape. The present version is a copy printed in reverse.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)