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Home>Exhibitions>Past>2010>Hendrick Avercamp: The Little Ice Age

# Hendrick Avercamp: The Little Ice Age

March 21 – July 5, 2010West Building, Main Floor, Dutch Cabinet Galleries

2006.11.3

Hendrick AvercampThe Little Ice Age
*A Winter Scene with Skaters near a Castle*, c. 1608–1609, oil on panel, The National Gallery, London

**Introduction**

 

The vibrant paintings of Hendrick Avercamp (1585–1634) transport us back to a time when Dutch waterways regularly froze in the cold of winter. In his landscapes, people young and old, rich and poor, share both the joy and the hardship of the Little Ice Age. This climatic phenomenon, which peaked in the 17th and early 18th centuries, was characterized by extremely severe winters that arrived early and lasted well into spring. Avercamp's earliest dated painting, from 1608, came after a winter in which temperatures averaged well below freezing.

 

Born in Amsterdam and presumably trained there, Avercamp spent most of his childhood and adult life in Kampen, a small city far removed from that artistic center. His powers of observation may have been heightened by his disabilities—he was unable to speak and probably also unable to hear. He captured an astonishing range of human conditions and activities, from gentlemen playing *colf* on the ice, to children throwing snowballs, to gypsies telling fortunes. An excellent draftsman as well as painter, Avercamp also made numerous figure studies from life and elaborate, colored drawings that were meant to be framed and hung. This artist indelibly shaped our perception of the Dutch winter. His paintings and drawings of the bustle of life on frozen waters reveal much about 17th-century life in the Netherlands and the adaptability of the Dutch as they confronted the harsh realities of the Little Ice Age.

Hendrick AvercampThe Little Ice Age
*A Winter Scene with Skaters near a Castle*, c. 1608–1609, oil on panel, The National Gallery, London

Winter landscapes evolved as an independent subject from pictorial cycles of the months or seasons, a popular theme in 16th-century Flemish art. The round format, the castle, and the festive skaters all reflect the work of Flemish artists who had moved to Amsterdam in the late 1500s.

Hendrick AvercampThe Little Ice Age
*Winter Landscape with a Peat Boat*, c. 1608, oil on panel, Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Geneva

In almost all of his winter paintings, Avercamp depicted people at work among those at play on the ice. Here laborers carry peat, an important source of fuel for heating, from the boat to the building on the right.

Hendrick AvercampThe Little Ice Age
*Ice Skating near a Village*, c. 1610, oil on panel, Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague, on long-term loan from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The anecdotes that fill Avercamp's paintings bring the scenes to life. At the far left, a man rushes to grab a ladder to aid skaters who have fallen through the ice.

Hendrick AvercampThe Little Ice Age
*A Scene on the Ice near a Brewery*, about 1615, oil on panel, The National Gallery, London

A diverse crowd of fancy folk and workers take to the ice in this engaging composition. To the right a seated old man watches the lively scene before him. Similar aged figures appear in many of Avercamp's winter paintings. In Dutch and Flemish artistic traditions, seasons were often associated with the stages of life, with winter compared to old age.

Hendrick AvercampThe Little Ice Age
*A Winter Scene*, c. 1610–1620, oil on panel, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

Most of the settings in Avercamp's winter scenes are imaginative evocations of Dutch waterways, towns, and villages, although the artist often incorporated landscape and architectural elements that he had drawn from nature. For example, the wooden lift-bridge was a typical Dutch structure, seen along canals and rivers.

Hendrick AvercampThe Little Ice Age
*Winter Scene outside the Walls of Kampen*, c. 1613–1615, oil on panel, Private collection, The Netherlands

Kampen was a port of trade on the Zuider Zee, a large inland sea. The player in the left foreground leaning on his *colf* stick and looking toward the viewer may be the artist himself; a similar red-bearded figure also gazes out of several other paintings by Avercamp.

Hendrick AvercampThe Little Ice Age
*Winter Scene on a Frozen Canal*, c. 1620, oil on panel, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 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

Avercamp based his figures on studies he made from life; he then replicated and recombined them in different ways in his paintings. The woman wearing a mask in the foreground at right reappears in *Skaters and Tents along the Ice* (no. 8).

Hendrick AvercampThe Little Ice Age
*Skaters and Tents along the Ice*, c. 1620, oil on canvas, Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, on loan from private collection

Plunging temperatures meant waterways froze solidly enough to act as roads, with sleighs and sleds joining skaters on the ice. As seen in this view, Dutch vendors moved their businesses into tents on the ice and offered snacks and warmth to all. The contrast between social classes is often striking: here a beggar and fishermen silently watch elegant figures pass by in horse-drawn sleighs.

Hendrick AvercampThe Little Ice Age
*Colf Players on the Ice*, c. 1625, oil on panel, Mrs. Edward Speelman

*Colf*, an early form of golf, was typically a gentleman's game and a winter favorite. In the most popular version, players tried to hit a ball toward a pole using as few strokes as possible. In this painting, Avercamp emphasized the social and economic contrast between the elegantly dressed *colf* player and the heavyset fisherman and his apprentice, who watch intently.

Hendrick AvercampThe Little Ice Age
*Frozen Landscape*, 1630, oil on copper, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Avercamp, who never depicted wintry precipitation, used atmospheric effects to suggest the cold. Here the silvery blue palette evokes the bitter air and looming clouds hint at a sky heavy with snow.

Hendrick AvercampThe Little Ice Age
*Winter Games on the Frozen River Ijssel*, c. 1626, pen and black and gray ink with watercolor, gouache, and graphite on laid paper; laid down, Woodner Collection, Gift of Andrea Woodner, 2006.11.3

In addition to making preparatory studies for paintings, Avercamp produced finished drawings for the art market. The refined composition and the careful use of watercolor and gouache to define the figures and create atmospheric effects suggest that Avercamp intended this drawing to be framed and hung on the wall.

Hendrick AvercampThe Little Ice Age
*Fishers in the Moonlight*, c. 1620, pen and ink, watercolor and gouache, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

With its bold coloring and nighttime setting, *Fishers in the Moonlight* is one of Avercamp's most daring and innovative works. The fine white lines he used to create reflections capture the gentle glow of moonlight on the water.

Hendrick AvercampThe Little Ice Age
*Two Studies of a Skate Sharpener*, c. 1620, pen and ink, watercolor and graphite, Lent by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Royal Collection © 2010 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Avercamp must have drawn often from life, although surviving examples of such drawings are rare today. One may well be the light sketch in the upper left corner of this sheet. After quickly drafting it, Avercamp reworked the scene, using watercolor to give body and shape to the figure of the craftsman and adding three little boys who are mesmerized by his task.

Hendrick AvercampThe Little Ice Age
*Three Richly Dressed Figures in a Landscape*, c. 1620, pen and ink and watercolor, over graphite, Teylers Museum, Haarlem

In addition to sketching from life outdoors, Avercamp made costume and figure studies in the studio. He apparently kept an abundant supply of these studies on hand, for the same individuals recur in his paintings and drawings, often with slightly altered poses or dress. Each figure in this watercolor, for example, originated in a separate, less meticulously finished study; Avercamp simply combined and placed the three in an outdoor setting.

**This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.**

**Overview**: 14 paintings and 16 drawings by Hendrick Avercamp were shown in this exhibition, the first ever devoted to the work of the 17th-century Dutch painter. The exhibition presented scenes of skating, sleigh rides, and outdoor games on frozen canals and waterways and included *Winter Games on the Frozen River Ijssel*, a recent gift of Andrea Woodner to the National Gallery of Art. Other works in the exhibition were on loan from public and private collections in Europe and the United States. Antique ice skates, including a pair of children's curl skates, and colf clubheads were on view. The game of colf, a precursor of golf, was depicted in many of Avercamp's winter scenes.

On March 19 the lecture "Skates & Skating in the Netherlands: When There was Actually Ice!" was presented by skate collector Anrie Broere. Sunday lectures on March 21 were presented by Pieter Roelofs, curator of 17th-century paintings, Rijksmuseum, who introduced the exhibition, and by Bianca M. du Mortier, costume curator, Rijksmuseum, who spoke on "Hendrick Avercamp—Fashions on the Ice." A book signing of the exhibition catalog followed. The National Gallery of Art and Gallaudet University created a joint pilot project of exhibition-related programs for visitors who were deaf or hard of hearing, a condition Avercamp may have shared. On May 19 harpsichordist Stephen Ackert performed music by Dutch composers in honor of the exhibition.

**Organization:** The exhibition was organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Pieter Roelofs, curator of 17th-century paintings, and Marijn Schapelhouman, senior curator of drawings, Rijksmuseum, were curators. Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., curator of northern baroque painting, National Gallery of Art, was coordinator in Washington.

**Attendance:**  87,604 (107 days)

**Catalog:***Hendrick Avercamp: Master of the Ice Scene*, by Pieter Roelofs et al. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum and Nieuw Amsterdam Publishers, 2009.

**Brochure:***Hendrick Avercamp: The Little Ice Age*, by Margaret Doyle. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 2010.

**Other Venues:**  Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, November 21, 2009–February 14, 2010

Dutch Landscapes and Seascapes of the 1600s

Education Resource: *Inside Scoop: Hendrick Avercamp*

                  - Hendrick Avercamp: The Little Ice Age: Part 2, One Community on the Ice
                  -                                     Audio, Released:                                    April 13, 2010, (22:25 minutes)                                
                  - Hendrick Avercamp: The Little Ice Age: Part 1, Winter Landscapes
                  -                                     Audio, Released:                                    April 6, 2010, (19:31 minutes)                                

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