Korenmolen met twee wieken bij Bennekom 1899

Curator: At first glance, the piece has a kind of sturdy, lonely feel, doesn’t it? All that meticulous etching, it's like a memory etched in metal. Editor: Indeed. What we're looking at here is titled “Korenmolen met twee wieken bij Bennekom," an etching made around 1899 by Wijnand Otto Jan Nieuwenkamp. The artwork displays an interest in landscape as its subject. The material itself adds significantly to its qualities; the etching emphasizes the texture of the aged mill and the surrounding field. Curator: I can almost smell the damp wood of that mill. I find the imperfection interesting. It is so very human in a world obsessed with perfection. The leaning character really suggests stories lived. Editor: From a formal perspective, note how the artist employs a high horizon line, a staple within the landscape etching genre of its time. This effectively emphasizes the towering presence of the mill against the somewhat undefined, atmospheric sky. It directs the eye upwards along a diagonal line created by the foremost wing, across to the apex of the mill, then back down, creating a circular compositional structure. Curator: Do you think Nieuwenkamp intended it to feel as nostalgic as it does? Because looking at it, I immediately thought of old stories. Millers, fields… Maybe I’m just projecting! Editor: That tension between the reality represented and what the artist communicates through his medium is where, for me, some of the enchantment resides. Curator: Absolutely. It’s amazing how something made of lines and metal can stir up a sense of past times. Thanks for opening up new pathways for my seeing of it! Editor: The pleasure was all mine. A strong artwork indeed and something I believe will continue to challenge and inspire.