Farmstead with willows on the water II

Farmstead with Willows on the Water II (1903), at the Kunstmuseum Den Haag, is the second of at least two versions of a composition combining the Dutch farmstead with the willow-lined waterway—a pairing that brought together the two most characteristic elements of the Dutch landscape. The 'II' designation indicates Mondrian worked through this motif in multiple iterations, exploring different compositional arrangements or atmospheric conditions. This iterative approach—returning to the same subject repeatedly—connects to the serial practice of the Impressionists and anticipates Mondrian's later systematic investigation of specific motifs across extended series.

The second version of this composition likely refines or varies the first: adjusting the relationship of farmstead to water, the scale of the willows, or the tonal character of the scene. The iterative approach allows Mondrian to explore the compositional possibilities of the motif more thoroughly than a single canvas would permit.