I painted the Jetten windmill in 1904.
Piet Mondrian used several Brabant windmills as subjects in his work, specifically those at Heeswijk, Veghel and Uden. The last was known as the Jetten mill. All three were of the post mill variety, introduced in the Netherlands in the early 13th century. The Jetten mill was used to grind grain. When Mondrian painted it, it had just been moved to a piece of land outside the village, because the increasing number of buildings meant its original location no longer received sufficient wind.
Different approaches
Comparing three windmill works from Mondrian’s Brabant period, we can see how he uses the same subject to perform very different visual investigations. Experimenting with the view of the building in Post Mill at Uden, he appears to be aiming for softness and atmosphere. Post Mill at Heeswijk, Side View is a quick impression in which the sunlight gleams from the canvas. And Post Mill at Veghel is a precise drawing with an almost graphic quality imparted by the subdued use of colour, the stark contrasts and the striking sky.
Standalone subject
Mondrian was interested in windmills as a visual element. Before moving to Brabant, he often painted them in Amsterdam, for instance in 1902/1903’s Oostzijdse Mill Viewed from Dock at Landzicht Farm. In this work, the surrounding landscape plays an important role in the composition. In the Brabant windmill paintings, it had ceased to do so. There, the mills themselves were obviously standalone subjects.
A step forward
The Brabant windmill paintings foreshadow how Mondrian would further isolate the windmill as a subject and approach it in a more radical way in Domburg. In Mill, or Red Mill at Domburg, he paints one in bright red against a blue background from an extremely low angle. The landscape no longer plays any role at all.