Landscape with Windmills on a Canal west of Amsterdam 1654 - 1655

Rembrandt van Rijn made this drawing of windmills on a canal west of Amsterdam using pen and brown ink, likely sometime in the mid-17th century. Holland in this period was a major economic power, propelled by international trade. Windmills were a vital piece of infrastructure, used to drain the low-lying land and power industry. This seemingly simple landscape connects to this wider social and cultural context. The image creates meaning through its visual codes, presenting a flat horizon line punctuated by the vertical thrust of the windmills. This juxtaposition speaks to the human ingenuity required to make the land habitable and productive. The drawing romanticizes the Dutch landscape while also acknowledging the engineering feats that made it so prosperous. Historians use a variety of resources, such as archival documents, economic data, and social histories, to understand the context in which art is made. By studying these resources, we can better understand the complex relationship between art and society, and the ways in which art reflects and shapes our world.