Artwork
A Young Woman Warming her Hands over a Brazier: Allegory of Winter
A Young Woman Warming her Hands over a Brazier: Allegory of Winter is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Caesar van Everdingen. It dates from 1640 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The subject is explicitly identified as a representation of the winter season, utilising specific objects to convey the cold and the need for warmth.
Caesar van Everdingen's 1640 oil painting presents an allegory of winter, centring on a young woman warming her hands over a brazier. The subject is explicitly identified as a representation of the winter season, utilising specific objects to convey the cold and the need for warmth. The depiction includes a square ceramic bowl containing embers or coal, which serves as the heating source, alongside a bonnet and a handkerchief that reinforce the seasonal context.
Through these visual elements, the work functions as a personification of winter, illustrating the human response to the harshness of the season rather than a landscape view.
Technique & Style
The work is executed in oil paint on a canvas support, a typical medium for Dutch Golden Age painting. The artist applied the oil in layered brushwork to render the textures of the woman's bonnet, handkerchief, and the glowing brazier, emphasising the allegorical theme of winter. Stylistically, the painting presents a detailed, naturalistic scene that personifies winter through a young woman warming her hands over a square ceramic bowl containing embers, accompanied by subtle symbolic details such as coal and a handkerchief.
History & Provenance
The painting was created by Caesar van Everdingen in 1640, as indicated by its documented inception date and the artist's known working period. The work entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it remains today. Its provenance prior to institutional acquisition is not specified in the available sources, though the painting's classification as an allegory aligns with Van Everdingen's known genre of historical and emblematic scenes.
Overview
Caesar van Everdingen, a painter active during the Dutch Golden Age, completed A Young Woman Warming her Hands over a Brazier: Allegory of Winter in 1640. This oil painting serves as a personification of the cold season, depicting a solitary figure seeking warmth. The artwork exemplifies the period's interest in allegorical themes and is presently housed in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Cesar Pietersz, or Cesar Boetius van Everdingen (1616/17 – buried 13 October 1678), older brother of Allart van Everdingen and Jan van Everdingen, was a Dutch Golden Age portrait and history painter.
