A Winter Landscape

This little picture completely captures the atmosphere of a late winter's day. The soft, muted colours convey the cold bleakness of the scene but also suggest the promise of coming warmth. The snow has mostly gone, although small patches hold on tenaciously, especially at the back of the house - but on the wall is a shadow of the gnarled old tree. The sun has definitely come out, if only for a moment.

Esaias van de Velde was among the first of the Dutch painters of the early seventeenth century to adopt a new style of painting winter landscapes. Unlike the incident-packed, bird's-eye views by earlier artists, we are on a level with the church on the far bank. There are fewer figures, too - just enough to involve us, but not enough to distract from the view and how it feels to be there.

Credit: Bought, 1957