Two Watermills and an Open Sluice

Jacob van Ruisdael rendered this dynamic scene of two watermills with an open sluice, a subject he returned to throughout his career. The rushing water demonstrates his outstanding ability to capture movement and texture in nature.

Watermills fascinated Ruisdael both as technical marvels and as symbols of humanity's relationship with nature's forces. The painting hangs at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Ruisdael's watermill compositions influenced British Romantic painters, particularly John Constable, who made copies of several Ruisdael works.