Hendrick Avercamp
Winter Scene on a Frozen Canalcirca 1620

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Oil painting of a winter landscape with dozens of figures skating, walking, and gathering on a frozen river, with a snow-covered town in the distance under an overcast sky

Oil painting detail of a winter scene on frozen water, with finely rendered figures in early 17th-century dress; a horse-drawn ornate red sleigh occupies the center, surrounded by figures skating, a man crouching to fasten skates, a dog nearby, armed men at right, and workers with boats in the background.

Oil painting of a crowded winter scene on a frozen river, with dozens of figures in 17th-century Dutch dress skating, walking, and gathering. Foreground groups include figures in red, green, and black cloaks; a man carries a musket at left. Ships and buildings visible in the distant background, rendered with fine detail and muted tones.

Oil painting, detail of a winter scene on a frozen river crowded with figures in early 17th-century Flemish dress. Foreground group includes elegantly dressed men and women in tall black hats, white ruffs, and richly colored cloaks, one woman wearing a black mask; a greyhound stands nearby. Figures skate, converse, and pull a sledge in the middle and background distance, rendered with fine, detailed brushwork.

Artist or Maker: Hendrick Avercamp
Northern Netherlands, 1585-1634
Title: Winter Scene on a Frozen Canal
Date Made: circa 1620
Medium: Oil on wood panel
Dimensions: Panel: 14 1/2 × 25 3/4 in. (36.83 × 65.41 cm) Framed: 20 1/2 × 31 1/2 × 2 7/8 in. (52.07 × 80.01 × 7.3 cm)
Credit Line: Partial gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward William Carter and purchased with funds provided by The Ahmanson Foundation, the Paul Rodman Mabury Collection, the William Randolph Hearst Collection, the Michael J. Connell Foundation, the Marion Davies Collection, Mr. and Mrs. Lauritz Melchior, Mr. and Mrs. R. Stanton Avery, the Estate of Anita M. Baldwin by exchange, and Hannah L. Carter
Accession Number: M.2009.106.23
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: European Painting and Sculpture
Curatorial Notes: Hendrick Avercamp began a series of winter scenes populated by anecdotal figures and activities in response to a wave of particularly cold weather starting in 1608. Although the harsh conditions caused death and widespread hardship—particularly among the poor—Avercamp’s paintings focus on people creatively adapting with practices like ice fishing and the use of wood sleds. In this landscape of frozen canals, Dutch identity is evoked in the village structures, boats, costumes, and recently adopted tricolor flag. While Avercamp’s idyllic scene may give the impression that the northern provinces were a tolerant society in which different groups easily commingled, class and other distinctions are made clear on the ice. Some leisurely converse, skate, or play colf (an early form of golf), while others engage in more laborious activities, like duck hunting or driving carriages for the wealthy. Behind a group of well-dressed people at center right, an enslaved Black African servant holds the group’s colf sticks and has garments slung over his shoulder. As active participants in the transatlantic slave trade, wealthy Dutch often purchased Black African boys from colonial outposts and brought them to the Netherlands to work as domestic servants. The enslaved wore collars to denote their dehumanized status.

Just to the left of center in the foreground, two Romani women with their children read palms. The Romani—or Roma—were a diverse group of itinerant peoples who traveled to Europe from India starting in the medieval period. They migrated for a number of reasons, including forced expulsion and flight from religious and cultural persecution, and faced similar harassment in Europe. In the Dutch Republic, they were called “heathens” and maligned through negative stereotypes. Legislation permitted capital punishment for Roma people and, in the eighteenth century, allowed “heathen hunts” in which bounties were offered for their murder.

2025
Provenance: Jan Carel Elias (1837–1900), graaf van Lijnden, Arnhem and The Hague, in 1881, bequeathed to his brother-in-law;(1) Johan Willem Frederik (1844–1903),(2) ridder Huyssen van Kattendijke, The Hague, bequeathed to the son of Jan Carel Elias; Johan Maurits Dideric (1864–1930), graaf van Lynden, Huis Keukenhof, Lisse, bequeathed to his wife; Aurelia Elisabeth (1875–1949), gravin van Limburg Stirum, vrouwe van Noordwijkerhout, Huis Keukenhof, Lisse, bequeathed to her son; Jan Carel Elias (1912–2003), graaf van Lynden, sold after 1951 to; [Nystad Antiquairs, Lochem, sold by 1954 to]; Sidney James van den Bergh (1898–1977), Wassenaar, sold 1972 through;(3) [G. Cramer, The Hague, to]; Mr. and Mrs. Edward William Carter, Los Angeles, partial gift and partial sale by the heirs 2009 to; LACMA.

Footnotes

(1) He was made a ridder (knight) in 1814 and in 1818 a graaf (count, earl). For the Van Lynden family, see Keukenhof 2009.

(2) He married Sara Agatha, baroness van Lynden, in 1874.

(3) Sidney James van den Bergh, who was a major collector of seventeenth-century Dutch paintings, was a senior manager of Unilever. In 1959 he served as minister of defense for the Netherlands.
Selected Bibliography: Hendrick Avercamp: Master of the Ice Scene. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, 2009.
Westermann, Mariët. A Worldly Art: The Dutch Republic 1585-1718. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996.
Baer, Ronni. Class Distinctions: Dutch Painting in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2015.
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.
Gifts on the Occasion of LACMA's 50th Anniversary. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2015.
Luijten, Ger, Peter Schatborn, and Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr. Drawings for Paintings in the Age of Rembrandt. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 2016.
Weckler, Clara J. Hendrick Avercamp, 1585-1634: Bijgenaamd "de Stomme Van Campen;" en Barent Avercamp, 1612-1679: "Schilders tot Campen." Doornspijk: Davaco, 1979.
Sutton, Peter C. El Siglo de Oro del Paisaje Holandés. Madrid: Fundación Colección Thyssen-Bornemisza, 1994.
Lehmbeck, Leah, editor. Gifts of European Art from The Ahmanson Foundation. Vol. 3, Dutch Painting, Flemish Painting, Spanish Painting and Sculpture. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2019.
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).
Zumaya, Diva. The World Made Wondrous: the Dutch Collector's Cabinet and the Politics of Possession. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2023.

Related Unframed

Hendrick Avercamp
Winter Scene on a Frozen Canalcirca 1620

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Artist or Maker: Hendrick Avercamp
Northern Netherlands, 1585-1634
Title: Winter Scene on a Frozen Canal
Date Made: circa 1620
Medium: Oil on wood panel
Dimensions: Panel: 14 1/2 × 25 3/4 in. (36.83 × 65.41 cm) Framed: 20 1/2 × 31 1/2 × 2 7/8 in. (52.07 × 80.01 × 7.3 cm)
Credit Line: Partial gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward William Carter and purchased with funds provided by The Ahmanson Foundation, the Paul Rodman Mabury Collection, the William Randolph Hearst Collection, the Michael J. Connell Foundation, the Marion Davies Collection, Mr. and Mrs. Lauritz Melchior, Mr. and Mrs. R. Stanton Avery, the Estate of Anita M. Baldwin by exchange, and Hannah L. Carter
Accession Number: M.2009.106.23
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: European Painting and Sculpture
Curatorial Notes: Hendrick Avercamp began a series of winter scenes populated by anecdotal figures and activities in response to a wave of particularly cold weather starting in 1608. Although the harsh conditions caused death and widespread hardship—particularly among the poor—Avercamp’s paintings focus on people creatively adapting with practices like ice fishing and the use of wood sleds. In this landscape of frozen canals, Dutch identity is evoked in the village structures, boats, costumes, and recently adopted tricolor flag. While Avercamp’s idyllic scene may give the impression that the northern provinces were a tolerant society in which different groups easily commingled, class and other distinctions are made clear on the ice. Some leisurely converse, skate, or play colf (an early form of golf), while others engage in more laborious activities, like duck hunting or driving carriages for the wealthy. Behind a group of well-dressed people at center right, an enslaved Black African servant holds the group’s colf sticks and has garments slung over his shoulder. As active participants in the transatlantic slave trade, wealthy Dutch often purchased Black African boys from colonial outposts and brought them to the Netherlands to work as domestic servants. The enslaved wore collars to denote their dehumanized status.

Just to the left of center in the foreground, two Romani women with their children read palms. The Romani—or Roma—were a diverse group of itinerant peoples who traveled to Europe from India starting in the medieval period. They migrated for a number of reasons, including forced expulsion and flight from religious and cultural persecution, and faced similar harassment in Europe. In the Dutch Republic, they were called “heathens” and maligned through negative stereotypes. Legislation permitted capital punishment for Roma people and, in the eighteenth century, allowed “heathen hunts” in which bounties were offered for their murder.

2025
Provenance: Jan Carel Elias (1837–1900), graaf van Lijnden, Arnhem and The Hague, in 1881, bequeathed to his brother-in-law;(1) Johan Willem Frederik (1844–1903),(2) ridder Huyssen van Kattendijke, The Hague, bequeathed to the son of Jan Carel Elias; Johan Maurits Dideric (1864–1930), graaf van Lynden, Huis Keukenhof, Lisse, bequeathed to his wife; Aurelia Elisabeth (1875–1949), gravin van Limburg Stirum, vrouwe van Noordwijkerhout, Huis Keukenhof, Lisse, bequeathed to her son; Jan Carel Elias (1912–2003), graaf van Lynden, sold after 1951 to; [Nystad Antiquairs, Lochem, sold by 1954 to]; Sidney James van den Bergh (1898–1977), Wassenaar, sold 1972 through;(3) [G. Cramer, The Hague, to]; Mr. and Mrs. Edward William Carter, Los Angeles, partial gift and partial sale by the heirs 2009 to; LACMA.

Footnotes

(1) He was made a ridder (knight) in 1814 and in 1818 a graaf (count, earl). For the Van Lynden family, see Keukenhof 2009.

(2) He married Sara Agatha, baroness van Lynden, in 1874.

(3) Sidney James van den Bergh, who was a major collector of seventeenth-century Dutch paintings, was a senior manager of Unilever. In 1959 he served as minister of defense for the Netherlands.
Selected Bibliography: Hendrick Avercamp: Master of the Ice Scene. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, 2009.
Westermann, Mariët. A Worldly Art: The Dutch Republic 1585-1718. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996.
Baer, Ronni. Class Distinctions: Dutch Painting in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2015.
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.
Gifts on the Occasion of LACMA's 50th Anniversary. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2015.
Luijten, Ger, Peter Schatborn, and Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr. Drawings for Paintings in the Age of Rembrandt. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 2016.
Weckler, Clara J. Hendrick Avercamp, 1585-1634: Bijgenaamd "de Stomme Van Campen;" en Barent Avercamp, 1612-1679: "Schilders tot Campen." Doornspijk: Davaco, 1979.
Sutton, Peter C. El Siglo de Oro del Paisaje Holandés. Madrid: Fundación Colección Thyssen-Bornemisza, 1994.
Lehmbeck, Leah, editor. Gifts of European Art from The Ahmanson Foundation. Vol. 3, Dutch Painting, Flemish Painting, Spanish Painting and Sculpture. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2019.
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).
Zumaya, Diva. The World Made Wondrous: the Dutch Collector's Cabinet and the Politics of Possession. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2023.