Stadsgezicht met een molen, mogelijk Delft 1881 - 1883

This is a graphite sketch of a cityscape with a windmill, possibly Delft, by George Hendrik Breitner. The windmill here emerges as a potent symbol, a motif steeped in the traditions of the Low Countries, where it signifies not merely agrarian life but industriousness and a triumph over the waters. This archetype isn’t confined to the Netherlands; windmills appear across cultures, each time adapted to reflect local values, from the spiritual gristmills of Persian Sufism to the industrial powerhouses of the English countryside. Breitner's sketch captures a specific emotive state of the Dutch landscape. It is the same landscape painted by the Dutch Masters. The collective memory of the Netherlands and the visual language connects with viewers on a subconscious level, and evokes the unique sense of “gezelligheid,” the warm sense of belonging and security. The windmill, in its cyclical motion, represents an ongoing narrative, one that Breitner taps into, reiterating how symbols morph across eras and locales, perpetually reinventing themselves in the human psyche.