Water mill 1803

Johann Friedrich Morgenstern created this watercolor, entitled "Water Mill," at the beginning of the 19th century. The image gives us a glimpse into the economic and social landscape of Germany at the time. Mills like this one were vital to local economies, serving as hubs for processing grains and other goods. The very image reflects a tension between nature and the emerging industrial era. We see a traditional structure relying on natural power. Romanticism was gaining momentum and artists depicted nature as sublime and spiritual while the emerging industrial landscape was one of pollution and alienation. The buildings tell us about the rural labor of this period as the watermills were vital infrastructure. To truly understand this work, we could research the local milling industry and the transition from agrarian to industrial economies in early 19th-century Germany. Artworks like this serve as primary documents for social and institutional historians.