A winter scene with skaters on a frozen river - Charles Venneman

Oil on panel
Signed and dated lower left: “Ch. Venneman, 1841”


Dimensions: 37 x 44 cm

THE ARTWORK

Like many landscape artists, we see here a low horizon with small figures. Venneman's oeuvre mainly consists of indoor genre paintings. This work is therefore an exception to what he usually made. In the scene we see a winter landscape with children playing on the ice. The chimneys of the house are smoking, so the stove is on. We also see a figure returning to the cozy interior. The lonely tree in the center of the composition resembles a pollard willow. It's your typical winter day for kids in Belgium.

The house seems to be located on the edge of a forest. The path from the house leads to a hole in the ice. The residents deliberately made a hole here for quick access to water. You can still see the cut ice on the frozen river. In the misty distance you can still see a church and just in front of it you see houses. This is where the village will be located. The two figures in the foreground are holding something. The boy in blue has a stick with a basket in his hands.



THE ARTIST

Charles Venneman was a Belgian painter specialized in anecdote genre scenes, Flemish fairs and landscapes with animals. He was born on January 7, 1802 in Ghent and died on August 22, 1875 in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. He was the student of Joseph de Cauwer and Ferdinand de Braekeleer. Once he was 18, he already took part in the salon of Ghent. Between 1821 and 1836 he was active in the decorative arts and furniture painting. After 1836 he focused fully on his art and moved to Antwerp to work for his former teacher De Braekeleer. Here he became acquainted with the art of David Teniers and Adriaen van Ostade. This led to a nostalgic feeling in his nature scenes. His daughter, Rose, also became a painter, but worked more in a realistic style.