Seasons can affect a painting as much as they effect in reality. Cold weather panting generally tends to give us more stable and balanced depiction of particular scene mostly without any negative aspect of life included. It’s like the cold atmosphere has been used to show the peace and the serenity of the people. It’s more like rainy scenes in movies which generally contains heavy emotional values.
Painting Name | Winter Landscape |
Painter Name | Jan Steen |
Completion Date | 1650 |
Size | 70 x 82 cm (27.56" x 32.28") |
Technique | Oil |
Material | Panel |
Current Location | Skokloster Castle (Balsta Sweden) |
In the presented painting, the people of the Old Dutch village have come out for the everyday chores while the kids are enjoying the snowy rides on the frozen lake. Amusement can be imagined as the kids can play under the bridge where in normal situation would be very hard to reach. We can see children involved in different activates across the painting.
The adults are more into talking or working. Yes, for kids it’s a playground extended over the lake but for the elder folks it’s the work extended over the lake. That’s something we grownups miss in our busy lives…the joy in smallest things.
Painter has tried to get the perspective correct and the detail in little things like branches and tents and people’s facial expressions are outstanding.
In the artist’s time the use of canvas for painting was just about to gain the popularity whereas the traditional way of oil on panel was general. The current painting is also painted according to that old technic in which a plane of wood is been used for instead of canvas. Then after the canvas got popular but still today there are many fans of oil on panel for its trustworthy sustainability.
This type of genre painting from old history teaches us more about the contemporary times and can know that some our so-called modern customs are not as much modern as we think.