Molen 1892 - 1928

Curator: Let's discuss "Molen," an etching created by Johannes Löhr sometime between 1892 and 1928. It depicts a solitary windmill. Editor: There's something quite somber about the muted tones. The etched lines create a soft, almost hazy atmosphere. You can almost feel the wind. Curator: Observe the artist’s deft use of line. Notice how the varying densities create the illusion of depth and texture, especially within the windmill’s structure and the surrounding foliage. Consider Löhr’s engagement with realism through the composition's stark and subtle rendering of the scene's material components, light, and atmospheric pressure. Editor: I agree; it’s technically impressive. And from a historical point of view, one thinks of the Dutch Golden Age landscape paintings and their celebrations of prosperity as being closely related to this motif. Curator: Precisely. It invites consideration of how technology, and therefore progress, is visualized across eras. This work offers an interesting reflection on that, showing what appears as an outmoded approach. The presence of that little bush and the tilt of the windmill blades bring a feeling of precarity to the idyllic structure. The image has a palpable quiet. Editor: In contrast, the location or implied social role that windmills once played can remind viewers of their role as active participants in regional economy and cultural expression; I cannot imagine the work being divorced from it, as each etched mark is suggestive. Perhaps a visual commentary about progress and regional dependence, it may even echo environmental questions as they were asked during Löhr's time. Curator: The textures alone become quite engaging as we ponder that. There is certainly room for reflection here on our shared ecological and technological narrative. Editor: Indeed. These landscapes are windows, aren’t they? Always capable of multiple readings over time.