Landscape with Windmills and Christ as Good Shepherd 1555 - 1575

This print was made by Lucas Gassel in the Netherlands sometime in the first half of the 16th century. It combines an idyllic landscape with a religious allegory. The image presents us with a highly ordered world. In the foreground, Christ appears as the Good Shepherd, guiding his flock. Behind him, windmills punctuate a carefully cultivated landscape. In this period, windmills were not just functional structures for grinding grain, but also symbols of Dutch ingenuity and prosperity, standing as emblems of a society that was becoming increasingly urbanized and market-driven. The careful arrangement of the landscape elements suggests a society that values order and control, and the inclusion of Christ as the Good Shepherd reinforces the idea of divine guidance in human affairs. To understand this work better, we might look at economic records, religious texts, and the history of Dutch landscape painting. By understanding the context, we can appreciate how art is shaped by the values and beliefs of its time.