Skating Near a Town
c.1610-20
Hendrick Avercamp, known as 'the mute of Kampen' because he was deaf and unable to speak, poured his observational genius into this lively scene from the 'Little Ice Age,' a period when Dutch canals froze solid for months. It’s essentially a 17th-century block party on ice—look at the figures skating, playing kolf (an early form of hockey), and chatting near that crumbling brick tower. Avercamp was a pioneer of the winter landscape genre, turning harsh weather into a joyful playground where all social classes mixed freely on the frozen water.
- Technique
- Oil on panel
- Material
- Oil paint on wood panel
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