Gezicht op molens langs de Ringvaart 1893

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch of windmills along the Ringvaart using graphite on paper. Breitner worked in the Netherlands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a period of rapid industrialization and urbanization. The Ringvaart itself is a canal enclosing reclaimed land known as a polder, so this drawing encapsulates the Dutch struggle to manage and control water for economic purposes. We can see how the image creates meaning through visual codes and historical associations. Windmills have long been a symbol of Dutch identity and ingenuity, but by Breitner's time they were becoming obsolete as sources of power. This simple sketch encapsulates a moment of transition in Dutch society as the country moved from an agrarian economy to an industrial one. As historians, to understand this work better, we can research the economic history of the Netherlands during Breitner's lifetime, exploring archives, newspapers, and other period documents. In this way, art becomes something contingent on social and institutional context.