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Winter scene with numerous figures on the ice
painting
Arentsz, Arent
Europe, Netherlands, Holland, Amsterdam
c1600-1631
1979.440
oil paint
25.7 x 50.8 cm
Winter Scene with Numerous Figures on the Ice early 1600s
Arent Arentz. 1585/86 - 1635
Oil on panel
In the 17th century winters in Holland were colder than now.
The canals often froze over completely,
tempting people out onto the ice to work and play.
It also inspired painters who saw it as an opportunity
to paint a panorama of daily life.
People enjoy themselves skating and sledging.
The children are playing kalf (like golf).
Other people must work;
fishermen make a hole in the ice
and a man hawks fowl.
Some profit from the weather by selling wine
which they pour from casks.
Although this is a jolly scene
on the horizon, to the right, are some gallows.
Death was ever-present in a world of religious turmoil,
and where miscreants were punished harshly.
Assheton-Bennett bequest 1979.440
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