The Windmill

Charles Hoguet's The Windmill (c. 1845-1868) takes up one of the most iconic subjects in Northern European art — the windmill that had been a staple of Dutch landscape painting since Ruisdael and Rembrandt. Hoguet's treatment of this traditional motif reflects the Romantic era's nostalgic attachment to pre-industrial technology and rural landscapes that were rapidly disappearing in the age of steam power. The Berlin-born painter's French training under Isabey gave him a more atmospheric, painterly approach to this quintessentially Dutch subject than might be expected from a German artist.

Hoguet achieves a convincing atmosphere around the windmill through subtle tonal gradations and fluid brushwork, with the structure emerging from the landscape in a manner that emphasizes mood and atmospheric effect over topographic precision.