Cityscape with Windmills (Copy after Jan Van Goyen or Salomon Van Ruisdael?) (from Sketchbook) 1810 - 1820

Editor: Here we have "Cityscape with Windmills", a watercolor made between 1810 and 1820, reportedly a copy after Jan Van Goyen or Salomon Van Ruisdael and currently residing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It has this beautifully moody atmosphere, a somber almost melancholic quality enhanced by the washes of grey. What captures your eye in this piece? Curator: It whispers of transience, doesn’t it? Like a memory half-formed. The artist, possibly Sully, is channeling the spirit of Dutch Golden Age painting. See how the windmills punctuate the horizon, not as grand monuments, but as humble servants of the land. Are they turning, or at rest? It makes you wonder. It is not just an observed landscape, but also a mood that washes over you, just like watercolor. Editor: I hadn’t considered that it might be capturing a specific mood so intentionally. I guess the Romantic style helps drive that interpretation. Curator: Precisely. It takes inspiration and admiration, adds the melancholic aesthetic of the Romantic era. Did they see these works as a symbol of stability or endurance? Is the murky atmosphere celebratory or grim? Perhaps it suggests that even enduring symbols are still vulnerable and constantly changed, just like we, as humans, constantly experience and recreate these feelings and memories. It certainly makes me reflect upon how something can mean so much. What are your impressions? Editor: That's fascinating; it makes the work feel so much more contemporary despite being a recreation of an older style. I suppose art builds on itself. Curator: Exactly! It's a reminder that art, like memory, is constantly reinterpreted, rebuilt and refracted through personal and cultural lenses. It shows how different experiences change perceptions of the piece of art in front of us, as well. Editor: It’s almost like a conversation across time and artistic traditions. I'll definitely be approaching other works with this in mind moving forward!