Stubmølle ved Kalundborg 1846

Johan Thomas Lundbye made this watercolor drawing of a post mill near Kalundborg. Lundbye’s choice of watercolor is interesting. It's a medium closely aligned with observation, and capturing fleeting effects of light. Yet, it also allows for a detailed depiction of the mill's construction. Notice the way he renders the wood grain, the careful rendering of the mortise and tenon joints that hold the structure together. The post mill itself is a testament to human ingenuity and labor. These mills were crucial to local economies, grinding grain into flour, but also involved a lot of manual work. In this context, the post mill represents a direct engagement with nature, harnessing wind power to transform raw materials. Lundbye seems to suggest an intimate, almost reverential, relationship between the people, the landscape, and the technology they use. In the end, it is by looking closely at the materials represented, and imagining the processes that produced both the mill and the drawing, that we arrive at a fuller appreciation.