The Mill

Georges Michel (1763-1843) was born in Paris. In 1775 he was apprenticed to the history painter Leduc. He later travelled to Switzerland and Germany. In 1790 he probably met the painter Lazare Bruandet (1755-1804). Around 1800 he restored Flemish and Dutch paintings by Rembrandt, Ruisdael and Meindert Hobbema in the Musée du Louvre After 1820 until his death, Michel, who had little interest in fame, gradually withdrew from the art world.

This painting is a fine example of George Michel’s production of landscape paintings reminiscent of 17th-century Dutch imagery. This painting shows a windmill, a typical Dutch feature, in a wide flat landscape under a stormy sky. The direct observation of nature and interest in atmospheric effect are characteristic of the Realist movement emerged in the 1840s in France. In this regard, Michel can be considered as a precursor of this new approach to art.