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Seventeenth-century Dutch winters were notorious for their Arctic cold, with canals and rivers frozen over. In the little town that Avercamp takes us to everyone is out on the ice, making the best of it: working, playing, showing off, laughing, complaining, falling over or just about managing to stand up. Boats are frozen in, horses pull sleighs over the ice. The luscious pink castle looks almost like a giant, iced Christmas cake.We look down from a height, so that the view of the town and beyond is wide and open. Each tiny figure is no bigger than a fingernail, yet Avercamp shows their personalities and, even if they have their backs to us, the story they have to tell.Hendrick Avercamp led the way in making pictures of 'life on the ice'. His career began at the time the Little Ice Age hit Northern Europe.
Title
A Winter Scene with Skaters near a Castle
Date
about 1608-9
Medium
Oil on oak
Measurements
H 40.7 x W 40.7 cm
Accession number
NG1346
Acquisition method
Bought, 1891
Work type
Painting
The National Gallery, London
Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England
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Winter Landscape National Galleries of Scotland, Scottish National Gallery -
Winter Landscape with a Frozen River and Figures Guildhall Art Gallery -
Winter Landscape on the River Ijsel, near Kampen, Holland Guildhall Art Gallery -
A Winter Scene with Skaters near a Castle The National Gallery, London -
A Scene on the Ice near a Town The National Gallery, London -
A Winter Landscape with Figures around a Bridge National Trust for Scotland, Hill of Tarvit Mansionhouse & Garden
