Figures on a Frozen Canal

Gerrit Battem

1670s

Pen and brown ink and translucent and opaque watercolor, Pen, Ink, Watercolor

J. Paul Getty Museum

Heavy, opaque bodycolor effectively conveys the accretion of snow on the rooftops and riverbank, the dripping icicles in the trees, and the wintry cloud cover. The bodycolor's weight and solidity harmonizes with the muted brown and gray color scheme. Subtly but effectively, Gerrit Battem also added the slightest touches of vivid blue and red to animate the scene. Figures on a Frozen Canal belongs to a group of whimsical winter cityscapes that Battem made as independent works of art. The luminous bodycolor he chose to use may signal that he intended these drawings to resemble oil paintings. Winter landscapes with peasants had been a