WINTER SCENES.

BAUR, NICOLAS, whose marine subjects are so highly prized in Holland, also painted winter pieces which are held in great estimation. His works are rarely seen out of his own country.

BAUT, PETER, (commonly called Francis Bout,) painted winter scenes, and views of the sea-shore, with numerous small figures very spiritedly executed. See Bout and Bodewyns, in the enlarged edition of Bryan's Dictionary.

BEERSTRAETEN, JAN, painted principally winter scenes. His pictures generally represent a chateau covered with snow in the depth of the season, and a number of figures amusing themselves in various ways on the ice. The colouring is true to nature; the cold blue sky is relieved by clouds of a fleecy texture, portending a further fall of snow. The figures are well designed and active, the groups varied, and the whole has a cheerful aspect for the time of year. He was a native of Amsterdam, where it is supposed that he died, in 1687.

BERCHEM, or BERGHEM, NICHOLAS. The winter pieces of this master are not numerous, and are mostly of small dimensions; the season is represented with great truth, and the cattle and figures make them lively and interesting. The scene generally represents a frozen canal, or branch of a river, on which are numerous figures, skating, or pushed along on sledges; the canal is crossed by a rustic bridge, cottages and windmills appear in the distance. Sometimes horses are seen standing on the ice or the banks, their riders having dismounted to join in the diversions; the animals are contrasted in their colour, one being gray, the

other brown: dogs also are introduced, indicating that the equestrians are sportsmen. Some represent farm buildings, cottages, and windmills, with horses feeding, or laden for a journey, poultry and other objects in the fore-ground, a woman with milk pails, and figures wrapped in cloaks, expressive of the chilliness of the morning. These rare pictures are of high value in commerce, and are to be seen only in first-rate collections. See the article Nicholas Berchem, under the head of Principal Painters; Hunting Pieces, &c.

His

CAPPELLE, JAN VANDER, painted rivers frozen, with figures skating and otherwise amusing themselves on the ice. subjects are treated much in the same manner as those by Vanderneer and Isaac Ostade, the figures being well disposed for perspective effect, the sky, clouds, and atmosphere gray and hazy, and true to the nature of the climate of Holland. See Marine Painters.

CUYP, ALBERT. The amateur of paintings, who is also a lover of nature and desirous of seeing her beauties represented with truth under the different aspects of the seasons, must be charmed with the winter scenes of Cuyp. He generally selects a fine day while the frost is intense, and makes his favourite river, the Maes, the scene of action. Here he assembles numerous figures of various grades enjoying the healthful sports to which the season invites, and interests the spectator by their feats of activity, incidental mischances, the daring confidence of the veteran skaters, or the timid movements of the neophytes. Horses drawing sledges, and fishermen with poles endeavouring to break a portion of the ice, show the solidity of the element; or these latter form groups on the shore, and strive to force their nets below the surface to obtain in an underhand manner what they are precluded from taking above. The spire of the church of Dort, a round tower and a tent with flags, frequently form objects in the picture. But the great charm of these subjects proceeds from the beauty of the colouring, the truth of the atmospheric effects, and the perspective gradation; for the sun, "shorn of his beams," tinges the clouds sufficiently to cause a cheerful aspect in nature, to neutralize the chilling sensation produced by the ice and snow, and to diffuse an appearance of warmth in the distant exhalations. See the articles Albert Cuyp, Landscape and

Cattle, Battles of Cavalry, Moonlights, Cattle Markets, Horse Fairs, Historical Subjects, Portraits, &c., &c.

HACCOU, JAN CORNELIUS, painted landscapes under the aspect of winter, and figures amusing themselves on the ice. See Moonlights.

HEIL, DANIEL VAN, who was a painter of conflagrations, also painted winter scenery; both are on a small scale.

MANS, F. H., (Franz Herman, ?) painted small landscapes, winter scenes with numerous figures, in the manner of Molenaer. They are clever little pieces, always on panel, and generally with his name, omitting the initials F. Í.

MOLENAER, JAN and NICOLAS, painters of merry-makings and conversations, painted winter scenes excellently. There is a woolly appearance in the clouds that distinguishes their pencil, and less of crispness in the snow than is found in the pictures of Beerstraeten; otherwise there is analogy between them. See Conversations and Merry-makings.

NEER, ARNOULD, or AART, VANDER, painted winter scenes by daylight, with the same skill as he did moonlights, and, for their rarity, they are sometimes rated even higher in

commerce.

OSTADE, ISAAC VAN, painted winter scenes analogous to those of Vander Cappelle and Vander Neer. See the article J. Ostade.

RUISDAEL, JACOB. All the aspects of nature were equally at the command of this master, and under his hand became

delightfully interesting to the spectator. A flat country covered with snow, a frozen canal with a few figures skating, a winding road leading to a distant village, a mill, and the tower and spire of a church, a single-arched bridge and a sluice, generally form the composition. But it is the truth of the natural sober garb with which he arrays these objects that delights the observer; he sees nature as she is in her sullen mood, and admires her no less than when the same artist has dressed her with the smiling verdure of spring, the cumbrous exuberances of summer, or the rich and varied garniture which she assumes in autumn.

See Principal Painters, Landscapes, &c.

VERMEULEN, ANDREW, painted landscapes and frozen canals with striking effect. The colouring is clean, the penciling firm, and the chiaroscuro well managed by the occasional in

The figures are

terposition of a wall, or the shadow of one. larger than those of the preceding painters. His genuine landscapes, both summer and winter, with figures and cattle, begin to rank with the better part of the second class masters. He was born at Dort in 1763, and died in 1814.

VAN DE VELDE, ADRIAN. His winter pieces are small, seldom more than twelve inches square, and often much less, but they are of precious quality. The general view is of a frozen canal with skaters, men playing the game of hockey on the ice, women in a sledge pushed by boys; a tent on the bank of the canal, or river, with horses and figures standing near. Sometimes ladies and gentlemen are partaking of the amusement, the former in a handsome sledge drawn by a horse, with the driver sitting on the side; the latter are. either skating or making the necessary preparations; a man with a basket at his back is a frequent object; and some buildings, a mill, or a bridge, show that it is in the vicinity of a village. The penciling is delicate, there is a beautiful harmony in the subdued colouring, (though he sometimes clothes one of his figures in a scarlet coat or jacket,) and his skies have the cheerfulness of a dry winter, reconciling the skaters to its severity.

See the article Adrian Van de Velde, under the head of Principal Painters; also, Landscapes with Cattle and Figures, Field Sports, Sea-shores, &c.

WELL, ARNOLD VAN, imitated Vermeulen in painting winter scenes.

WOUWERMAN, JAN, the younger brother of Philip, has left a few winter pieces, which are very pleasing in the selection of the scenes, the natural appearance of the landscapes and skies, and the spirited execution. See Scholars and Analogists of Philip Wouwerman.

N

BATTLES AND SKIRMISHES,

ENCAMPMENTS, SUTLERS' BOOTHS, ETC. ETC.

BERCHEM, or BERGHEM, NICHOLAS, shows remarkable vigour in his representations of rencontres of cavalry, attacks on baggage waggons, and other subjects of irregular warfare. In these his knowledge of horsemanship and the action of the noble animal are conspicuous. All parties are in earnest, and the contest appears furiously energetic; but there is generally something of an episode. Apart from the mêlée two have singled out each other for trial of prowess and skill, and by their bold bearing attract the admiration of the spectator. These ride chargers of different colours, one being chesnut the other white, and the warlike habiliments of the combatants show them to be of different nations, sometimes Asiatic or African, opposed to European. Dead and wounded, both men and horses, strew the ground, and a trumpeter is sounding the charge. These scenes are represented sometimes in a wild rocky pass, or near a wood whence one party issued from ambush; sometimes on marshy ground where there is a pool with rushes and aquatic plants, and near the ruins of an ancient castle.

See the article Nicholas Berchem, under the head of Principal Painters; Landscapes and Cattle, Hunting Pieces, Winter Scenes, &c.

BLOEMEN, PETER VAN, painted skirmishes of cavalry, marchings and halts of soldiers, horse fairs, sutlers' booths, and other matters connected with military life. His figures and horses are well designed, his penciling broad and full, and his colouring rich and clear. His landscapes are frequently ornamented with ruins of ancient architecture.