To get you in the festive spirit and embrace the cold winter months ahead, I’ve chosen my favourite wintry scenes from the National Gallery in London.
Claude Monet
The blues, greys and warmed pink tones make this Monet scene feel very festive. We all wish for a white Christmas like this, and Monet has captured it in his impressionist, dreamy style.
Hendrick Avercamp
A Winter Scene with Skaters near a Castle
This 17th-century Dutch scene shows a typical pastime of skating and playing on a frozen lake. I love looking closely at all the different figures as I find something new each time. The tones are very cosy and warm, accentuated by the Germanic pink castle in the foreground, which helps draw your eye across the painting and to the horizon.
Lauritis Anderson-Ring
Road in the Village of Baldersbrønde (Winter Day)
Another cold icy winter, and you really feel that crisp Nordic air in Anderson’s painting. The lines draw you in, from the geometric shapes of the typical Scandinavian houses to the trees and hedges, and the road running straight through the canvas into the horizon. With the bleak monochromatic tones, you definitely want to be cosying up next to the log burner in one of those homes.
Caspar David Friedrich
Typical of Friedrich, this painting has a tonne of atmosphere! It’s mainly due to the mythical-like church structure appearing hazily in the foggy distance. The winter sun is trying to burn its way through, and perhaps shine a light on the poor beggar man in the foreground. In my opinion, you could see this scene in two ways. Either it’s a bleak painting, with the struggling figure having only his faith left to guide him, or it’s one of hope and miracles with his salvation beginning to manifest in the background to save him.
Camille Pissarro
With a rapid, energetic painting style, Pissarro really encapsulates a British winter. The earthy, dull tones create an almost sombre feeling. Probably that time between Christmas and New Year’s that everyone hates!
artmyface 