Art-Van Ruisdael-Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede TB02

Please drop this item in rural or Premium Member Only caches.  Do not drop it in an urban cache or leave it behind at a caching event.  Transport the bug in the original plastic bag for as long as the bag lasts; this prevents the chain and tag tangling with other items.  Otherwise, take this travel bug anywhere you wish.  No permission needed to leave the U.S.

This is one of a series of travel bugs made to recognize paintings seen, and admired by the bug owner. A digital copy of this painting was downloaded from the internet. The copy was reduced in size and proportions cropped to accommodate the laminating materials available to the owner. Regrettably these processes diminish the effort of the artist. One truly must see the original in person to fully appreciate the work. The text below is a mixture of my own observations and material gleaned from the internet (mostly Wikipedia and Web Gallery).

Jacob Isaackszon van Ruisdael (1628-1682) was a painter during the Dutch Golden Age, the 17th century. Prior to this time most patrons of the arts were the church and royalty who largely wanted portraits and paintings with religious or allegorical themes. After the Renaissance, northern Europe became a center of commerce and the middle classes prospered to the point that they wanted art to decorate their homes. And, they had broader tastes is subject matter than institutional patrons. To satisfy the demand, the Dutch and Flemish regions developed an amazing number of artists. Portraiture and religious topics were still important, but there was a thriving market for landscape, seascape, cityscape, still life and commemorative paintings.

Van Ruisdael is considered the preeminent landscape painter of his time and this rendering of the dramatic clouds is unsurpassed. Wijk bij Duurstede (neighborhood near Duurstede) is a small city on the Rhine, in the central Netherlands. Duurstede is the name of the nearby castle/ruin, where the bishop of Utrecht used to live. This mill no longer exists but its foundations can still be seen. This painting is on display at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.