Piet Mondrian (1872-1944)

In reference to the related watercolor of the same subject (Welsh, no. A74), Robert P. Welsh has written: "At first glance this farmyard enclosed by buildings on at least three sides would seem difficult to localize, and indeed the structures to right and left betray no characteristics peculiar to a particular region of the Netherlands. Yet the profile at left of the large central building betrays the termination of the upper roof area at an angle to the vertical place below, which is a well-known feature of many farm buildings in the eastern Netherlands (known as wolfdak or wolfseind), and the teken at the crest of the roof is another feature common to farm buildings in the region...The combination of thatching for the upper and tiles for the lower roof areas is also common to the region, and the relatively low side walls in contrast to the large rook above is another combination which identifies the site as in the eastern regions of the Netherlands, possibly on the outskirts of Winterswijk given the presence of triangular house gables in the distance at left which seem to indicate their positioning along a street. The truncation of architectural forms is in keeping with Mondrian's depictions of buildings along the Lappenbrink and others otherwise identifiable with the Achterhoek, which argues for an assignment of this example and its companion piece (cat. no. A73) to a date in the late 1890s" (op. cit., p. 185).