Little farmhouse with white well - Casilla con pozo blanco

With varying degrees of fortune, a good number of windmills have survived the ravages of time and remain standing to this day. They are typically found in small towns, usually perched on hills or nearby slopes, where they create picturesque landscapes that are hard for any artist to overlook, whether as the main feature of the scene or as a backdrop contrasting against the sky. Some are little more than ruins, but many have been restored, especially since tour operators began to capitalize on these giants immortalized by Cervantes in his brilliant novel. However, they have long since lost their original role in rural Manchegan life, and those that still preserve their mechanisms, few as they are, grind grain only occasionally, serving as ethnographic exhibits.

Con mejor o peor suerte, todavía queda una buena cantidad de molinos de viento que han aguantado los embates del tiempo hasta nuestros días. En pueblos no muy grandes, generalmente en montes y cerros aledaños a la villa, donde evocan paisajes pintorescos que difícilmente puede pasar por alto un artista, ya sea como protagonistas de la escena, o como telón de fondo del paisaje, contrastando contra el cielo. De algunos solo queda ruina, pero muchos han sido restaurados, sobre todo desde que los operadores turísticos se hicieron eco de esos gigantes que inmortalizara Cervantes en su genial novela. Pero han perdido ya su papel original en la vida rural manchega y, los que conservan su mecanismo, los menos, muelen pocas veces, y como muestra etnográfica.

Some details of the painting