Jan van Goyen, 'A Scene on the Ice near Dordrecht', 1642
Full title | A Scene on the Ice near Dordrecht |
---|---|
Artist | Jan van Goyen |
Artist dates | 1596 - 1656 |
Date made | 1642 |
Medium and support | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 117.5 × 151 cm |
Inscription summary | Signed; Dated |
Acquisition credit | Bought (Lewis Fund), 1891 |
Inventory number | NG1327 |
Location | Not on display |
Collection | Main Collection |
Barely a third of van Goyen’s painting of life on the ice in seventeenth-century Dordrecht shows people; the rest is sky. But he still manages to pack the picture full of incident and humour. Some people squeeze into horse-drawn sledges, while others zoom across the ice or stand and chat. Some play kolf, the forerunner of golf – or miss their shot and fall over, watched by an unhelpful dog.
The air is still with a mist of frost and yet the picture seems to move – a skirt flaps, a hat skids on the ice, legs kick in the air. We know which of the skaters is practiced and moving at speed and which are beginners, clinging on, their bodies tense.
The large building on the right is the Riedijk water gate, outside Dordrecht. Further away across the frozen Merwede river, on the left, stands Merwede Castle, already a ruin by van Goyen’s time.
Barely a third of van Goyen’s painting of life on the ice in seventeenth-century Dordrecht shows people; the rest is sky. But he still manages to pack the picture full of incident and humour. Some people squeeze into horse-drawn sledges – the large one close to us is signed van Goyen and dated on the back panel – while others zoom across the ice or stand around and chat. Some play kolf, the forerunner of golf – or miss their shot and fall over, watched by an unhelpful dog.
The air is still with a mist of frost and yet the picture seems to move – a skirt flaps, a hat skids on the ice, legs kick in the air. We know which of the skaters is practised and moving at speed and which are beginners, clinging on, their bodies tense. Facial expressions are shown with a flick of the brush.
The large building on the right is the Riedijk water gate, outside Dordrecht. Further away across the frozen Merwede river, on the left, stands Merwede Castle, already a ruin by van Goyen’s time. These same ruins appear in Peasants and Cattle by the River Merwede by Aelbert Cuyp. For other skating pictures, look at Hendrick Avercamp’s A Scene on the Ice near a Town and A Winter Scene with Skaters near a Castle.
Download a low-resolution copy of this image for personal use.
License and download a high-resolution image for reproductions up to A3 size from the National Gallery Picture Library.
License imageThis image is licensed for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons agreement.
Examples of non-commercial use are:
- Research, private study, or for internal circulation within an educational organisation (such as a school, college or university)
- Non-profit publications, personal websites, blogs, and social media
The image file is 800 pixels on the longest side.
As a charity, we depend upon the generosity of individuals to ensure the collection continues to engage and inspire. Help keep us free by making a donation today.
You must agree to the Creative Commons terms and conditions to download this image.
More paintings by Jan van Goyen
![A River Landscape](/media/32389/n-0151-00-000010-hd.jpg?rxy=0.49230769230769234,0.67096774193548392&width=576&height=576&v=1d653ca0ffdd180&bgcolor=fff)
![A River Scene, with a Hut on an Island](/media/34426/n-6154-00-000011-hd.jpg?cc=0,0.102803738317757,0,0&width=576&height=576&v=1d65447828e8dc0&bgcolor=fff)
![A River Scene, with Fishermen laying a Net](/media/33695/n-2580-00-000013-hd.jpg?cc=0,0.16303400174367916,0,0&width=576&height=576&v=1d654402c4d1e60&bgcolor=fff)
![A Scene on the Ice](/media/33694/n-2579-00-000015-hd.jpg?cc=0.17548495370370368,0,0.08649421296296303,0&width=576&height=576&v=1d654402994dc30&bgcolor=fff)
![A Windmill by a River](/media/33693/n-2578-00-000014-hd.jpg?cc=0.085722222222222214,0,0.11063194444444449,0&width=576&height=576&v=1d65440270530a0&bgcolor=fff)
![An Estuary with Fishing Boats and Two Frigates](/media/ttwpc2or/n-6423-00-000020-hd.jpg?width=576&height=576&v=1d7f3483ff2f180&bgcolor=fff)
![Fishermen hauling a Net](/media/34427/n-6155-00-000011-hd.jpg?cc=0,0.11111111111111111,0,0&width=576&height=576&v=1d65447856861b0&bgcolor=fff)
![The Mouth of an Estuary with a Gateway](/media/34635/n-6464-00-000009-hd.jpg?cc=0.032916666666666664,0.0000000000000001263187085796,0.2264583333333334,0&width=576&height=576&v=1d654499a05de70&bgcolor=fff)
![A Cottage on a Heath](/media/fxhnkq3p/n-0137-00-000023-hd.jpg?width=576&height=576&v=1d9f07b9d5446d0&bgcolor=fff)
![Sailing Vessels on a River in a Breeze](/media/33692/n-2577-00-000010-hd.jpg?cc=0.24969907407407405,0,0.052384259259259387,0.0000000000000001263187085796&width=576&height=576&v=1d6544024624b30&bgcolor=fff)