Winter Landscape

Outside a Dutch town a frozen lake is filled with skaters and sledges.  To the left a skater comes towards us wearing a fur cap, skating on one leg.  To the right of him another person has just fallen over, near groups of townsfolk conversing around a horse-drawn sledge with barrels of drink. 

As the lake proceeds into the distance the groups of skaters thin out but remain visible into the farthest depths of the composition, leading to a windmill to the right background.  Two exiting figures are visible in the far right in front of another windmill.  The trees and rooftops are flecked with snow.  The sky is a wintry mix of white, grey and pink. 

Molenaer has adeptly captured the reflection of a winter’s day in mid-seventeenth century Holland.  So much is happening within the scene, a man in the centre pushes a sledge filled with sacks of something. The artist’s employment of red accents in the clothing of the figures again draws the eye through the scene and onto the open ice.  Through the artist’s technical virtuosity viewer and subject are as one.

Klaes (or Nicolaes) Molenaer

Klaes (or Nicolaes) Molenaer was one of the youngest sons of the tailor Jan Mienssen Molenaer and Grietgen Adriaens: no exact birth dates for their eight children are known, as the family was Roman Catholic and no official baptismal register was kept, unlike births of members of Protestant families. Klaes was the younger brother of Jan Miense Molenaer, who was married to Judith Leyster, and of Bartholomeus Molenaer. On 13 November 1650, Klaes married Guyrtgen Jacobsdr, with whom he had fourchildren. He was buried on 31 December 1676 in the church of St Bavo in Haarlem.

Klaes Molenaer is best known for his winter scenes. He was taught by the little known painter Nicolaes Piemont but was more
influenced by the works of his fellow townsmen Jacob van Ruisdael and Isaac van Ostade. Molenaer specialised in in landscapes and genre, which included beach scenes, river views and peasant gatherings in taverns and villages. 

His early works show the influence of Jan van Goyen and he is thought to have studied with Salomon van Ruysdael.  He joined the Guild of St. Luke in Haarlem in 1651.  He was particularly
skillful at depicting and recording contemporary Dutch life, with his most notable pupils being Nicolas Piemont and Thomas Heeremans.

Molenaer was an industrious painter and many of his charming works are preserved in museums all over the world, including the
Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum in Braunschweig and the Gemälde galerie in Hessen. Winter landscapes are among Molenaer’s most beloved works. Winters were harsh during the seventeenth century, which is known as the Small Ice Age, and winter landscapes flourished.

Museums
National Museum, Norway, National Gallery of Ireland, National Museum Warsaw, National Museum Latvia, UK Museums, The Rijksmuseum, Harvard Art Museum, Statens Museum for Kunst, Groninger Museum and the Crocker Art Museum.