Winter

Unknown artist

1625

oil on panel

Rijksmuseum

A winter scene depicts people ice skating and playing hockey near a large brick building with turrets. Bare trees frame the left side of the oval composition, and a distant village is visible on the horizon. This winter scene accompanies a summer landscape on view elsewhere in this gallery. When Van Goyen painted the two little pictures in 1625, he rested on a long tradition. As early as the Middle Ages, artists portrayed the seasons by means of landscapes with people engaged in typical seasonal activities.