Molen in doorsnede 1761

Editor: This is "Molen in doorsnede" from 1761, an engraving by Johann Wilhelm Meil. The contrast between the fully functional windmill and the deconstructed one creates such a striking contrast. What exactly am I looking at here? Curator: You're spot on with that contrast. It's like looking at two different worlds existing on the same plane, isn't it? What strikes me is the story of ingenuity being whispered. Can't you almost feel the cogs turning? It feels deeply Dutch in its DNA. You know, there is something beautiful in this rendering technique, which captures both the grand scope of windmills, as a whole, with also showing what the mechanical 'insides' are like. As though the machine, the land, and perhaps even people become exposed and knowable. What do you feel about the overall composition and balance? Editor: I do feel like this is some type of metaphor about how the artist relates to a Dutch sense of self or national identity. And to that last question, I feel the landscape seems secondary, while the architecture is central. It feels both planned, but also with a quality of documentation, like some scientific pursuit or curiosity that's rendered as an artwork. What would the artist have felt showing us the inside versus outside of this form? Curator: Hmmm, yes that relationship between the inside and outside - beautifully put! Perhaps he intended it as an offering, a peek behind the curtain, so to speak. These mills held immense cultural value, not merely as machines, but as symbols. Now that I look closer, the print reveals more about us and about our vision as people too, and the drive towards progress. It feels oddly utopian, actually. Editor: Wow, I hadn’t considered that angle. The symbolism of progress! I think I see the landscape differently too, it’s as if these colossal, human inventions naturally emerge as extensions of this very landscape!