Broekzijder Mill in the Evening

This small painting is dated at around 1906 and is now a part of a private collection, meaning access to it will likely be restricted.

Directly in front of us is a calm river with bridge just in front of the mill. That structure reached up towards the top of the canvas, and the artist chooses to darken the seen considerably, suggesting an early morning or later afternoon timing. Detail is relatively limited, as Mondrian concentrates on lighting and feeling, such was his interest in impressionism and post-impressionism at this early stage of his career.

Piet Mondrian spent a number of years capturing Dutch windmills within his paintings, clearly finding an affection with this very-Dutch style of food production. He was in the early part of his career when he worked on a number of landscapes, working in an expressive style where colour was key. His concentrated on using light effectively and saw this as a fundamental element from the impressionist movement, of which he would have studied as a student. One would never have imagined that just a few years after this painting he would have been working consistently as an truly abstract painter, and would never return to this more traditional style ever again.

We collected together the artist's various windmill paintings so that you can visually see the variations between them. Windmill in Sunlight is very different to Broekzijder Mill in the Evening, with a far brighter output that some have compared to the Fauvist movement. The understated work in this painting will still appeal to many, though, who adore the flat but charming landscape found in this region, with the windmill adding a certain element of traditional farming life as well.