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A Winter Scene

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Notes

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Isack van Ostade’s little village seems to be a hard place to live. Although there’s no snow, the grey clouds threaten and there is a feeling of bone-chilling cold. The old cottage on top of the bank is ramshackle and touched with frost, its roof hardly robust enough to keep out the weather. And yet the overall impression of this painting is far from depressing.

It was painted in the 1640s, at the beginning of the Little Ice Age when, in the winters, Europe froze to a degree unknown before and the poor people of the countryside knew hardship and poverty. It’s as if van Ostade is celebrating the endurance of the Dutch people, but also faith in the return of spring. Such sentiments would have appealed to an urban collector comfortable in his warm house, and they were portrayed with a realism that any owner would have appreciated and found entertaining.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

A Winter Scene

Date

1640s

Medium

Oil on oak

Measurements

H 48.8 x W 40 cm

Accession number

NG848

Acquisition method

Bought, 1871

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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