The winter scene of the town shows a peaceful scene on thin ice – literally and figuratively. Amid economic strength and cultural flourishing, awareness of the vulnerability of land, climate, and peace remains ever-present.
Snow over silence
A detached, narrow gabled house and a massive church steeple dominate the wintry scene: they indicate that the lively hustle and bustle on the frozen water is located in the immediate vicinity of a town; what we see here is probably the old fortification ditch. The horizon is set low, the viewer’s gaze wanders into the spatial depths; the flat land and the frozen surface of the water seem to have become one with the sky likewise dressed in grey. For all the carefreeness of the pictorial scene, the temperature shock of the “Little Ice Age”, a basic experience in the early modern period, is clearly palpable.
Views of places form an integral part of Dutch landscape painting of the so-called 'Golden Age'. Although such places cannot always be specified, they authentically reflect the character of the country: even then, the flat regions of the Netherlands by the sea, the provinces of northern and southern Holland, formed a conurbation of great economic importance, shaped not only by its major urban centres, but also by a large number of smaller towns in the immediate vicinity.
The painting does not solely portray the severity of the season, however. It also describes a state of affairs which was a great exception during the period: there is peace, at least on land, for wars take place mainly at sea. The small town depicted here is defenceless by modern standards; it does not have to fear an enemy at the moment, and the fortification ditch serves only peaceful purposes. But the peace is also threatened, as shown by the French invasion of 1672 with its devastating consequences. It is as fragile as the thin ice on which people are enjoying themselves, or the dikes which are supposed to protect against the floodwaters of the nearby sea. For all their economic strength and flourishing culture, the Dutch have always been aware of the fact that they live in a vulnerable country.
Text: Ulrich Becker