Winter Games on the Frozen River Ijssel

c. 1626

Hendrick Avercamp

Associated Names
Hendrick Avercamp

Artist, Dutch, 1585 - 1634

This painting depicts a busy scene on a frozen river or lake, filled with a crowd of people. The horizon is in the center, showing boats and low buildings in the distance. Closer to us, many people are engaged in different activities on the ice. Some ride in a horse-drawn sled, while others play a game with long sticks and small round balls. The people wear colorful clothing in shades of red, blue, yellow, green, and black. Some of the women wear elaborate gowns with ruffled collars, while the men wear colorful suits and wide-brimmed hats. Other people wear simpler jackets and trousers. A few dogs run on the ice among the crowds. Aside from the colorful clothing, the color palette is mostly shades of cream, light gray, and pale blue.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and black and gray ink with watercolor, gouache, and graphite on laid paper; laid down

  • Credit Line

    Woodner Collection, Gift of Andrea Woodner

  • Dimensions

    overall: 19.9 x 33.1 cm (7 13/16 x 13 1/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2006.11.3

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

George Hibbert [1757-1837], London; William Esdaile [1758-1837] (Lugt 2617), London; (sale, London, Christie's, 18-25 June 1840, lot 1178); John Postle Heseltine [1843-1929] (Lugt 1507), London; Henry Oppenheimer [1859-1932] (Lugt 1351), London; by descent to Eric Oppenheimer (sale, London, Christie's, 6 July 1976, lot 150); (Martyn Gregory, London); (sale, London, Christie's, 7 July 1981, lot 121); purchased by Ian Woodner, New York; by inheritance to his daughters, Andrea and Dian Woodner, New York, 1990.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1929

  • Exhibition of Dutch Art, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1929, no. 554.

1953

  • Drawings by Old Masters, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1953, no. 329.

1983

  • Master Drawings from the Woodner Collection, J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, CA; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; and Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, MA, 1983-85, no. 50, repro.

1986

  • Dibujos de los siglos XIV al XX: Colección Woodner, Museo del Prado, Madrid, 1986-87, no. 71.

  • Meisterzeichnungen aus Sechs Jahrhunderten: Die Sammlung Ian Woodner, Haus der Kunst, Munich, 1986, no. 59, repro.

  • Die Sammlung Ian Woodner, Albertina, Vienna, 1986, no. 59, repro.

1987

  • Master Drawings: The Woodner Collection, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1987, no. 60, repro.

1990

  • Master Drawings from the Woodner Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1990, no. 74, repro.

1995

  • The Touch of the Artist: Master Drawings from the Woodner Collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1995-1996, no. 67, repro.

2006

  • Master Drawings from the Woodner Collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2006 - 2007.

2010

  • Hendrick Avercamp: The Little Ice Age, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2010, unnumbered brochure, fig. 5.

2017

  • The Woodner Collections: Master Drawings from Seven Centuries, NGA, 2017.

2018

  • Water, Wind, and Waves: Marine Paintings from the Dutch Golden Age, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2018, unnumbered brochure, fig. 11.

Bibliography

1903

  • Heseltine, J.P. Reproductions of Original Drawings in Colour from the Collection of J.P. Heseltine. 1903: no. 4.

1933

  • Welcker, Clara J. Hendrick Avercamp (1585-1634), bijgenaamd "De Stomme van Campen" en Barent Avercamp (1612-1679), "Schilders tot Campen". Zwolle, 1933: 253, no. T.129.

1956

  • S.n. Illustrated London News, Christmas ed. (1956): 20.

1974

  • Hasselt, Carlos van. Dessins flamands et hollandais du dix-septième siècle. Exh. cat. Rotterdam; Boymans-van Beuningen Museum and Paris; Institut Néerlandais, 1974: mentioned under no. 3.

1976

  • Herbert, John, ed. Christie's Review of the Season 1976. New York, 1976: 104 (repro.).

1977

  • Hasselt, Carlos van. Rembrandt and his Century: Dutch Drawings of the Seventeenth Century from the Frits Lugt Collection, Institut Néerlandais. Ex cat. New York; Pierpont Morgan Library and Paris; Institut Néerlandais, 1977-78: mentioned under no. 1.

1979

  • Welcker, Clara J. Hendrick Avercamp (1585-1634), bijgenaamd "De Stomme van Campen" en Barent Avercamp (1612-1679), "Schilders tot Campen". Edited by D.J. Hensbroek-van der Poel. Rev. ed. Doornspijk, 1979: nos. T.129, T.130.

1995

  • The Touch of the Artist: Master Drawings from the Woodner Collections. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1995-1996: no. 67.

2009

  • Roelofs, Pieter, ed. Hendrick Avercamp: Master of the Ice Scene. Exh. cat. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; National Gallery of Art, Washington. Amsterdam, 2009: 179.

Inscriptions

lower left in gray watercolor: HA; by later hand, lower left verso in pen and brown ink: 1823 WE 63+ G. Hibberts colln Stomme van Campen

Watermarks

eagle with wings displayed

Wikidata ID

Q64573636

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