A Windmill and Houses beside Water: Stormy Sky

Jacob Maris's 1885 windmill and houses beside water under a stormy sky, now at the National Gallery in London, is among the most characteristic Hague School landscapes — the flat Dutch terrain, the windmill silhouetted against an expressive clouded sky, the reflecting water of a canal or river below. Maris brought to this quintessentially Dutch subject both technical mastery and genuine feeling for the landscape's emotional possibilities. The National Gallery's acquisition of this work reflects the strong nineteenth-century British appreciation for Hague School painting.

The windmill's vertical form is silhouetted against the stormy sky — a classic Dutch compositional formula rendered with Maris's assured technique. The sky is painted with considerable atmospheric drama — dark clouds, broken light — the Hague School's emphasis on sky fully evident. The water below reflects the troubled sky in a characteristic palette of cool grays and blues. The windmill and houses are defined with architectural precision within the atmospheric setting.