Oil Pastel, Conté on hardboard
22 x 21 cm (including frame, outer size 45 x 30 cm)
Signed with 'MOND'
1991
De Beemster, The Netherlands
Around the year 800, the area, which now forms the municipality of Beemster, was covered with peat. The extraction of the peat by humans in combination with storm tides led to the fact that this river grew in the period 1150-1250 into an inland sea, a lake that was in open connection with the Zuiderzee. In 1607, the States of Holland and West Friesland granted permission to dry the Beemster, which was done under the supervision of Jan Adriaanszoon Leeghwater. He eventually used 43 polder mills for this, after an initial estimate of 30 mills. This artwork comes with a wide aluminum frame and is protected with glass. The medium used is oil pastel and crayon.