Pleasures on the ice

In the Netherlands of the 17th century, often referred to as the ‘Golden Age’, the genre of winter landscapes enjoyed great popularity in painting. Unlike in previous eras, winter in the northern provinces, which had become prosperous through long-distance trade, was no longer associated solely with frost and deprivation, but with leisure activities on the ice enjoyed by people from all walks of life.

In keeping with the season, Villa Vauban is exhibiting three newly acquired paintings by Dutch artists from the 17th to 19th centuries. A winter landscape with skaters by Jacob Esselens (1626–1687), painted around the middle of the 17th century, represents the original genre. This atmospheric, large-format painting was recently donated to Villa Vauban by Mr Claude Lebrun. Another donation, in this case from the Amis des Musées Luxembourg, is Winter Landscape with Windmill and Skaters on the Ice by Andreas Schelfhout (1787-1870), which symbolises the rediscovery of the Old Dutch masters in the 19th century. A painting recently acquired by the museum, created around 1800, is by Andries Vermeulen (1763-1814), an artist who specialised in winter landscapes in the style of the 17th century.

This motif, so typical of 17th-century Dutch painting, should be viewed against the backdrop of the ‘Little Ice Age’, a period of relative cold that lasted from around 1500 to 1850. The Dutch used the canals and waterways, which regularly froze over at that time, for a wide variety of pleasures: in addition to ice skating, these included the game of kolf (similar to today’s golf), various types of sledges, also used as a means of transport, and even ice yachts, i.e. sailing boats on runners. In koek-en-zopie tents, skaters could enjoy cakes and warm alcoholic drinks. Furthermore, painters recognised in these winter scenes a characteristic of their still young nation, which is why the paintings can also be seen as an expression of the pride of the Netherlands as it fought for its independence from Spain.

The three works are being presented to the public for the first time and fascinate viewers with their atmosphere and rich detail, as well as their nostalgic look back at a time of ‘real’ winters.