Where can you find guaranteed snow and ice in London?
Five must-see winter landscapes at the National Gallery to immerse yourself in yule spirit and escape the holiday crowds
Snow makes everything pretty, but the real one also raises your gas bills. In London, there is one place we can relax and enjoy snow and ice year round – at the National Gallery – bill-free.
If you aren’t in London, you may just need to open a window to see snow. Or does your local gallery have wintry artworks?
Claude Monet, Snow Scene at Argenteuil, 1875 (room 41)
You may know Monet for his waterlilies. He made around 250 paintings of those, because he was fascinated by light, and water offers a multitude of possibilities to capture light’s reflections. Snow is a very different matter, but it fascinated him too. In this painting we can feel the frost in the air – the winter atmosphere. Everything seems white, but almost nothing is. Look closer – the snow on the road is a mixture of grey, blue and pink brushstrokes. The bushes on the left have bright red accents. But snow is hard to control, unlike waterlilies (Monet’s pond was artificial). However, this painting comes from his earlier years when he was ready to record quick observations of natural phenomena. Do you prefer Monet’s snow or his waterlilies?
Hendrick Avercamp, A Winter Scene with Skaters near a Castle, about 1608/9 (room 16)
A round painting that mixes reality with imagination. It records a typical pastime of the Little Ice Age in 17th-century Northern Europe. The winters were cold enough for rivers to freeze over, so ice-skating was available to all – booking free! This painting shows all society coming together, from people in the finest fashions to the poor folk. It’s covered in figures – everyone enjoying the precariousness of the slippery surface and the fun it provides; a little injection of dopamine in the depths of winter. The pink castle in the middle of the painting is an invention by the artist. It gives this lively scene with crying toddlers and laughing couples a sense of fairy tale. Did we just dream it all?
Alfred Sisley, A Watering Place at Marly-le-Roi, probably 1875 (room 44)
This one features a demolished chateau, built in the 17th century and destroyed after the French Revolution. There remains an aqueduct that was used to water the gardens. Sisley, interested in all things pre-Revolutionary, must have found this landscape irresistible. The snow, with its ability to shroud all sins in white, gave the scene a sense of nostalgic romanticism. Like his fellow Impressionist Monet, Sisley painted light rather than objects. And wintery light is full of blues and pinky-yellows. He painted outdoors and captured the scene fast in rapid movements, enhancing the hazy winter feeling with their lack of precision. Would you go for a walk in this snow? I would, but only with a prospect of a hot cuppa.
Hendrick Avercamp, A Scene of the Ice near a Town, about 1615 (room 16)
Another Avercamp. He spent a lot of time painting life on ice. Treat this as a highbrow alternative to Where’s Wally. The sharp-eyed among you will find a running dog, a lady in a mask, and a husband keen to look at a woman who has fallen with her skirts in a mess, rather than his own wife and kids. Some things never change. There are people playing kolf – an early form of golf. There is a fisherman (who isn’t there for fun) and then there is Father Christmas! Or rather it is an old man personifying winter – but that doesn’t sound as fun, does it? What would you wear for a quick once across the river and back?
Camille Pissarro, Fox Hill, Upper Norwood, 1870 (room 44)
Painted in south London, not far from the National Gallery, by another French Impressionist. At the time, he was living in London to escape the Franco-Prussian war. Norwood was undergoing transformation; like other villages around London, it was gradually absorbed into the larger city with all the trappings of industrialisation. But you wouldn’t know it from this idyllic countryside image. The snow here does not overtake the landscape, as in the other paintings. It is a spring snow –one that allows the brighter colours to seep through – the reds, the greens, and the blues. Are you a fan of snow, or can’t wait for it all to melt?
BONUS picture
Caspar David Friedrich, Winter Landscape, probably 1811
The National Gallery’s most famous winter scene is not currently on display, but I couldn’t bring myself to exclude it. Once it returns, go and examine the details. The painting is both a haunting landscape and a poetic religious piece. Everything is a metaphor. The three fir trees at the centre are reminiscent of the Holy Trinity. The man abandons his crutches and re-discovers faith in front of the shining crucifix. In the background, a Gothic cathedral with an entrance gate – suggesting entrance to Christian religion, salvation and belief. Finally, the green grass shoots at the front are a sign of hope and new life. It is a beautiful example of German Romantic art, the only one by the artist in the National Gallery. Can you see where Disney got his inspiration for his trademark castle?