Jacob van Ruisdael (Dutch, 1628/29–1682), Landscape with a Windmill, 1646. Oil on wood. Framed: 69 x 88.5 x 4 cm; Unframed: 49.5 x 68.5 cm. Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1967.19 © The Cleveland Museum of Art 

Look closely at the field across from the windmill: white linens are naturally bleached in the sun, a process that would have taken several months.

Even this early work by Jacob van Ruisdael—painted while he was still a teenager—shows his unique approach to landscape that made the simplest motifs seem grand and heroic. Dark forms are massed in the foreground, creating a stark contrast to the expansive, sunlit plain at left.