Artwork
Winter in Holland: Skating Scene
Winter in Holland: Skating Scene is an oil painting by the Baroque artist Aert van der Neer. It dates from 1645 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower left, in monogram, first and last two letters in ligature: AV DN / 1645
About this work
Technique & Style
The application of oil on panel allows for the detailed representation of the frozen waterways and figures typical of the artist's oeuvre during this period.
Executed in 1645, this landscape is rendered in oil paint on a wooden panel support. The work measures 54.61 cm in height and 69.85 cm in width. As a characteristic example of Dutch Golden Age painting, the piece depicts a winter skating scene, utilizing the medium to capture the specific atmospheric conditions of the season.
The application of oil on panel allows for the detailed representation of the frozen waterways and figures typical of the artist's oeuvre during this period.
History & Provenance
Winter in Holland: Skating Scene was painted in 1645 by Aert van der Neer using oil on panel; the work measures about 54.6 cm in height and 69.9 cm in width.
The painting entered the collection of Sir George Donaldson in London by 1902, was sold at his 1906 auction, and was purchased the following year by William A. Clark; Clark bequeathed it to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1926, and the piece was acquired by the National Gallery of Art in Washington in 2014.
Winter in Holland: Skating Scene is currently held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., having been acquired there in 2014. The work was previously part of the Corcoran Gallery of Art's collection, where it arrived in 1926 as a bequest from William A. Clark. Clark purchased the painting in 1907 following its sale from the estate of Sir George Donaldson, who had owned it since at least 1902.
The painting's provenance traces back to early 20th-century London dealers and earlier 19th-century sales, including a transaction at Christie's in 1900 and a Paris sale in 1804. While specific accession numbers for the Corcoran are not detailed in the provided text, the National Gallery of Art now maintains the inventory for this 1645 oil-on-panel landscape.
Context
Winter in Holland: Skating Scene (1645) exemplifies Aert van der Neer’s mastery of winter landscape, a genre that flourished in the Dutch Golden Age. The work was recorded by Cornelis Hofstede de Groot as catalog number 568 and has been examined in correspondence regarding its placement among van der Neer’s oeuvre. Its provenance traces from Sir George Donaldson to William A. Clark, bequeathing it to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1926, and later to the National Gallery of Art in 2014.
Scholars have highlighted the painting’s technical handling of ice and atmospheric perspective as indicative of van der Neer’s influence on later Dutch winter scenes.
Overview
Aert van der Neer's Winter in Holland: Skating Scene, painted in 1645, captures a characteristic Dutch winter vista. Executed in oil on panel, this work exemplifies the artist's focus on landscape painting during the Dutch Golden Age. It presents a tranquil yet active depiction of a frozen waterway, a subject for which van der Neer became particularly recognized.
Subject & Meaning
The painting portrays a frozen Dutch river at dusk, where numerous small figures engage in various activities on the ice. Skaters glide beneath a canopy of bare trees, while others stand conversing. The sun, nearly set behind clouds, casts a pale orange glow across the sky, contrasting with the blue hues of the snow-covered landscape. This interplay of light and shadow defines the cold, late afternoon atmosphere.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Aert van der Neer, or Aernout or Artus (c. 1603 – 9 November 1677), was a landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, who specialized in small night scenes lit only by moonlight and fires, and snowy winter landscapes,…
