Molen aan het water in de Zaanstreek 1895

Willem Cornelis Rip made this pencil drawing of a mill on the Zaan River sometime between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rip, who studied at the Royal Academy of Visual Arts in Amsterdam, was part of a generation of Dutch artists who sought to capture the essence of their national landscape. Here, the artist depicts the Zaanstreek, a region north of Amsterdam known for its many windmills used to power local industries. The image evokes a sense of Dutch identity rooted in its industrious past, as the windmills were crucial for milling grain, sawing wood, and producing paper. The sketch bears witness to a time of rapid industrialization and urbanization. Artists acted as recorders of a changing landscape, negotiating the relationship between tradition and progress. Studying municipal archives, economic data, and local histories will help to reveal how the artist’s work is embedded in a specific socio-economic context.