Art-Van Ruisdael-Windmill

This trackable has the modest goal to circulate more than five years and to be moved by at least 25 cachers. That is a rate of five drops per year for five years.  

No permission is needed to leave the U.S.  While in the U.S., please drop it in a Premium Member only OR a rural cache near a busy trail or road. Do not place it in an urban cache or abandon it at a caching event where there is no security.  Transport the bug in the original plastic bag for as long as the bag lasts; the bag keeps the trackable clean, protects the number and prevents tangling with other items.  Otherwise, take the trackable anywhere you wish.

Trackable photos are appreciated and will be re-posted here.

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.