Irrigation ditch with mature willow

Irrigation ditch with mature willow of 1900 is among Mondrian's earliest sustained engagements with what would become his most characteristic early subject — the pollarded willows of the Dutch waterway landscape. The 'mature' willow here suggests a larger, older tree than the younger specimens he painted elsewhere: its crown is more developed, its trunk more substantial, its presence in the landscape more dominant. As a large, singular form beside the still water of an irrigation ditch, this willow becomes almost monumental, an anchor point in the horizontal flatness of the polder ground.

The mature willow dominates the composition — its mass larger than the willows in his other studies, its presence more assertive. The ditch water provides a reflective foreground that mirrors the tree's form. The handling of the willow's crown varies between more defined outer edges and looser internal mark-making, suggesting the density and movement of the foliage.