Snow on canvas

Snow on Canvas

by Tasneem Hatimbhai

Sublime images of white, snow daubed roofs of alpine homes, pink skies dabbed with the light of a low sun, snow clad mountains both dreamy and formidable, hunters with huskies, and children with sleighs and skates, not common sights in most parts of world, are however, pictures that immediately come to mind when we think of Winterscapes.

Art has a beautiful way of etching images into our minds that transcend time and place. Many artists have taken on the challenge of creating artworks that capture the beauty and the harshness of the winter.

Different representations and interpretations of the winter on canvas include paintings by Hendrick Averkamp (A winter scene with skaters near a castle, oil on oak, 1608-1609) and Pieter Bruegel the Elder (The Hunters in the Snow/ Return of the Hunters, oil on wood, 1565) that are amply busy with winter activity and a treat for a curious viewer. Other paintings of winter such as those by Katsushika Hokusai (who was an inspiration to Van Gogh and painted The Great Wave of Kanagawa, 1829-1833), Van Gogh (Landscape with snow, 1888), Kandinsky (Winter Landscape, 1909) and finally Edvard Munch who most of us only know for The Scream, painted some amazing winter scenes (such as New Snow, 1901, New Snow in the Avenue 1906 and Workers in the Snow, 1912).

These paintings are ripe with not as much activity and defined form but tell a winter story with the magic of colour and brush stroke. What is apparent straight away from all these, and many more winter paintings, is use of paint to re-create the special light that crafts the magic of winter on canvas.

Choose a sublime dusk and try your hand at creating your own winter scape this season, or join our winter wonderland workshop on Sunday 5th, December, 2021. Email us for a link to attend the online session.

Information credit: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/snow-art_n_4427495   https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20131224-the-10-greatest-winter-paintings

Image 1: Pieter Bruegel the Elder, “The Hunters in the Snow,” 1565. Oil on, 117 cm × 162 cm (46 in × 63¾ in). Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria (Wikipedia)

Image2: Wassily Kandinsky, “Winter Landscape,” 1909, oil on cardboard, 75.5 x 97.5 cm, The State Hermitage Museum, St.Petersburg, Russia (Wikimedia)

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