Winter Landscape with Figures on Ice Outside the City”
Claes Molenaer
1670
48.3 x 65.5 cm
Oil on canvas
Unknown
Dorotheum Auction, Vienna, 12-09-1957, no. 79 Private collection, Switzerland
Claes Molenaer has developed as a prolific landscape painter, ranging from dunes, canals, and river landscapes to village and city views. However, his winter landscapes have a special place in his work, and this work is a pretty good example. A relatively new genre of winter landscapes was extremely popular during the time of Molenaer. His production, particularly in Haarlem, was put on a grand scale, and the landscapes were of very high quality.
At the beginning of the 17th century, winter landscapes were freed from the depictions of the four seasons (times of the year) due to the strong impulse of Hendrik Averkamp (1585-1634). The development of landscape painting continued by Esaias van de Velde, who was also from Haarlem.
The compositional scheme used in this work, with its diagonal architectural motif, was often used by Molenaer to create direct and realistic scenes. Molenaer brought his scenes to life with numerous figures of working and playing characters, in a manner typical of his winter scenes. While some are sledding or ice skating, others stand watching a lively scene or transport goods on a sled.