Three Windmills

Georges Michel (1763 - 1843), c. 1814-1843

oil on paper on canvas, 50.3 cm x 69.4 cm
The Mesdag Collection, The Hague

This expansive landscape with a lowering thundery sky recalls 17th-century landscapes by Jacob van Ruisdael. Georges Michel was probably very familiar with such works because he restored paintings in the Louvre. The dramatic illumination in this painting can be compared to that in Ruisdael’s Le coup de soleil, which had been in the museum’s collection since 1784.

Mesdag was one of the first admirers of Georges Michel’s work. In 1888 the Dutch art critic Vosmaer wrote: ‘Mr Mesdag is probably the only person in the Netherlands to own a work by Georges Michel.’

Object number

hwm0260

Credits

The Mesdag Collection, The Hague

Dimensions

50.3cm x 69.4cm, 80cm x 100cm, 11cm