Water mill, Frits Thaulow - Description of the Painting

This picture created by a famous Norwegian master can serve as a vivid example of the perfect mix of impressionism and realism. Thaulow is one of the few Norwegian artists to achieve world fame and recognition, and his ability to depict water - living, moving, active – contributed to this a lot.

Water is present on most of his paintings and is the main character of this one. This is emphasized by a special plot: the water in this composition is in the foreground, seeming to fill the whole area of the picture to the brim. The buildings make the background, a sort of backstage of this lush and exuberant natural performance.

The water is shown as deep, green, and iridescent, constantly moving in the backwater just behind the mill, resembling a wild animal driven into a tight cage. The mill wheel grinds it, whipping up a lush foam, but the water retains its indomitable essence, continuing to rebel.

The colors of this painting deserve special attention. One must keep observing water for decades, to be able to depict the water so skillfully that the viewer would involuntarily reach out to feel the picture. The water is voluminous and slippery, dense, and alive, like mercury, reflecting the very life.

One can feel it by the whole body, its smell, and the humidity of the damp air, up to the splashes coming from the mill wheel. The movement and the shine of water are emphasized by a light stretching from the mill wheel straight to the viewer, differing in the foreground by hundreds of small flares.

The color scheme of this painting is rich, but not motley. Even though the picture appears filled with color, it is dominated by rich and deep tones of green and brown. The artist chose them because of the image of water and mill structure, made of old reddish brick.

The impressionist vision of space played perfectly well in this painting - the dilapidated mill buildings shown in the background of the picture look remarkably picturesque and somewhat elegant. The reddish “shabby” shade of the mill walls superbly harmonizes with the juicy, emerald, green color of the water just below them and with its deeper bluish tint observed in the foreground, under the light glare.

The paintings created by Thaulow depicting water became not just his blow off, they literally brought the well-deserved fame to him. His works are easily recognizable, even if the ones depicting different parts of the world. As it is the case with this painting, water remains the main character of the composition, being a symbol of eternal and unceasing life.