The Windmill At Wijk Bij Duurstede

Ruisdael (1629-1682) is considered to be the greatest Dutch landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age. Ruisdael’s favorite subjects were simple woodland scenes. He used his imagination to create dramatic scenarios. The Windmill at Wiijk Bij Duurstede, one of the painter’s most famous works, depicts a riverside town with a windmill, castle and church under an expansive sky with delicate light glowing through gray clouds. Ruisdael received a medical degree in 1676 and may have pursued a second career as a surgeon.