Aert van der Neer
Frozen River with a Footbridgecirca 1650-1660

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Oil painting of a winter landscape with figures skating and walking on a frozen river, bare trees framing the scene, buildings and a windmill in the distance

Artist or Maker: Aert van der Neer
Northern Netherlands, circa 1603/4-1677
Title: Frozen River with a Footbridge
Date Made: circa 1650-1660
Medium: Oil on wood panel
Dimensions: Panel: 15 × 19 1/4 in. (38.1 × 48.9 cm) Framed: 23 × 27 × 2 in. (58.42 × 68.58 × 5.08 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward W. Carter
Accession Number: M.2003.108.1
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: European Painting and Sculpture
Curatorial Notes: Active in Amsterdam, Aert van der Neer is celebrated for his quotidian landscapes that document nocturnal winter scenes and, on rare occasions, views of towns with burning buildings. Frozen River with a Footbridge—one of his many variants on this theme—features a river winding into the distance, flanked by farm buildings and a town. The colors of a late winter afternoon are captured through van der Neer’s adept use of light, whereby indirect sunlight illuminates the sky, creating reflections on the ice below. Unlike Hendrick Avercamp’s Winter Scene on a Frozen Canal (M.2009.106.23), white is here used sparingly to suggest ice and the dusting of snow on the frozen ground, reserving bright white daubs for snow on rooftops and the glistening trees. While figures animate the landscape, they do not distract from van der Neer’s atmospheric effects. Indeed, infrared photography reveals that a large central figure was removed and replaced by smaller ones, indicating the artist’s deliberate decision to minimize the human presence.

While some have argued that Frozen River alludes to nature’s dominance over man, or reminds viewers of their mortality during the life-depleting winter season, the painting has an air of fun and joy, as a sleigh glides across the snow, skaters enjoy themselves on the ice, and two men play colf, a popular precursor to modern golf. In van der Neer’s vivid evocation of a frosty day, life carries on for the Dutch country folk who have found ways to cope with the harshness of winter.

2024
Provenance: Sir Montague John Cholmeley (1802– 1874), 2nd Bart., Easton, Co. Lincoln.(1) Probably "A Gentleman" (sale, London, Christie’s, 17 Dec. 1915, lot 117, as "A Frozen River Scene, with Figures: Moonlight, on panel, 14 1/2 in. by 19 in.," sold for ￡37.16 to);(2) Lindlar.(3) "Different Properties" (sale, London, Christie’s, 30 Nov. 1917, lot 42, as "A Frozen River Scene, with Buildings and Figures, on panel—14 1/2 in. by 19 in.," sold for ￡25.4 to); [Van der Kar, London]. "Property of a Lady" (sale, London, Christie’s, 29 Mar. 1974, no. 67, ill., sold for ￡7,500 to); [Smith]. [David Koetser, Zurich, sold 1976 to]; Mr. and Mrs. Edward William Carter, Los Angeles, given 2003 to; LACMA.
Footnotes
(1) Label attached to the back of the panel is printed with Cholmeley’s coat of arms and "Sir Montague John Cholmeley, Bart."
(2) Possibly sold from the estate of Captain Sir Montague Aubrey Rowley Cholmeley (1876–1914), 4th Bart., Easton, grandson of Sir Montague John Cholmeley. The younger Sir Montague was killed in action 24 December 1914. Although the dimensions agree with the Carter painting, the description of the painting as "moonlight" does not. The discrepancy may, however, be attributed to dirty varnish that could have made the painting appear to represent evening or night.
(3) Possibly Max Lindlar, who in 1926 was noted as having been head of the Bechstein Piano Company, 40 Wigmore Street, London, for forty years. Grew 1926, p. 54.
Selected Bibliography: Walsh, Jr., John., and Cynthis P. Schneider. A Mirror of Nature: Dutch Paintings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Edward William Carter (Second Edition). Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1992.
Schulz, Wolfgang. Aert van der Neer. Doornspijk: Davaco, 2002.
Walsh, Amy L. The Mr. and Mrs. Edward Carter Collection of Dutch Paintings. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2019. https://archive.org/details/Carter_Collection_Dutch_Paintings (accessed May 23, 2022).

Aert van der Neer
Frozen River with a Footbridgecirca 1650-1660

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Artist or Maker: Aert van der Neer
Northern Netherlands, circa 1603/4-1677
Title: Frozen River with a Footbridge
Date Made: circa 1650-1660
Medium: Oil on wood panel
Dimensions: Panel: 15 × 19 1/4 in. (38.1 × 48.9 cm) Framed: 23 × 27 × 2 in. (58.42 × 68.58 × 5.08 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward W. Carter
Accession Number: M.2003.108.1
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: European Painting and Sculpture
Curatorial Notes: Active in Amsterdam, Aert van der Neer is celebrated for his quotidian landscapes that document nocturnal winter scenes and, on rare occasions, views of towns with burning buildings. Frozen River with a Footbridge—one of his many variants on this theme—features a river winding into the distance, flanked by farm buildings and a town. The colors of a late winter afternoon are captured through van der Neer’s adept use of light, whereby indirect sunlight illuminates the sky, creating reflections on the ice below. Unlike Hendrick Avercamp’s Winter Scene on a Frozen Canal (M.2009.106.23), white is here used sparingly to suggest ice and the dusting of snow on the frozen ground, reserving bright white daubs for snow on rooftops and the glistening trees. While figures animate the landscape, they do not distract from van der Neer’s atmospheric effects. Indeed, infrared photography reveals that a large central figure was removed and replaced by smaller ones, indicating the artist’s deliberate decision to minimize the human presence.

While some have argued that Frozen River alludes to nature’s dominance over man, or reminds viewers of their mortality during the life-depleting winter season, the painting has an air of fun and joy, as a sleigh glides across the snow, skaters enjoy themselves on the ice, and two men play colf, a popular precursor to modern golf. In van der Neer’s vivid evocation of a frosty day, life carries on for the Dutch country folk who have found ways to cope with the harshness of winter.

2024
Provenance: Sir Montague John Cholmeley (1802– 1874), 2nd Bart., Easton, Co. Lincoln.(1) Probably "A Gentleman" (sale, London, Christie’s, 17 Dec. 1915, lot 117, as "A Frozen River Scene, with Figures: Moonlight, on panel, 14 1/2 in. by 19 in.," sold for ￡37.16 to);(2) Lindlar.(3) "Different Properties" (sale, London, Christie’s, 30 Nov. 1917, lot 42, as "A Frozen River Scene, with Buildings and Figures, on panel—14 1/2 in. by 19 in.," sold for ￡25.4 to); [Van der Kar, London]. "Property of a Lady" (sale, London, Christie’s, 29 Mar. 1974, no. 67, ill., sold for ￡7,500 to); [Smith]. [David Koetser, Zurich, sold 1976 to]; Mr. and Mrs. Edward William Carter, Los Angeles, given 2003 to; LACMA.
Footnotes
(1) Label attached to the back of the panel is printed with Cholmeley’s coat of arms and "Sir Montague John Cholmeley, Bart."
(2) Possibly sold from the estate of Captain Sir Montague Aubrey Rowley Cholmeley (1876–1914), 4th Bart., Easton, grandson of Sir Montague John Cholmeley. The younger Sir Montague was killed in action 24 December 1914. Although the dimensions agree with the Carter painting, the description of the painting as "moonlight" does not. The discrepancy may, however, be attributed to dirty varnish that could have made the painting appear to represent evening or night.
(3) Possibly Max Lindlar, who in 1926 was noted as having been head of the Bechstein Piano Company, 40 Wigmore Street, London, for forty years. Grew 1926, p. 54.
Selected Bibliography: Walsh, Jr., John., and Cynthis P. Schneider. A Mirror of Nature: Dutch Paintings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Edward William Carter (Second Edition). Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1992.
Schulz, Wolfgang. Aert van der Neer. Doornspijk: Davaco, 2002.
Walsh, Amy L. The Mr. and Mrs. Edward Carter Collection of Dutch Paintings. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2019. https://archive.org/details/Carter_Collection_Dutch_Paintings (accessed May 23, 2022).