Anthonie VERSTRAELEN (Gorinchem, 1594 - Amsterdam, 1641) Skating in winter Oak panel, one board Winter skating scene, oak panel, by A. Verstraelen 6.88 x 11.02 in. 17.5 x 28 cm Provenance: Collection of Baron Mourre, according to a label on the reverse; Gustave Maurouard and Marie-Joséphine Mourre Collection, according to a label on the reverse; Lucien Maurouard and Edith de Nefville Collection, according to a label on the reverse; Private collection, Ile-de-France Anthonie Verstraelen's life remains little documented: born in the south of the United Provinces, he discovered the works of Hendrick Avercamp in Amsterdam in the early 1620s, who had already been back in his home town of Kampen for several years. He married twice, in 1628 and again in 1634 after becoming a widower. When he died in 1641, his second wife was authorised by the Weeskamer (Amsterdam orphanage administration) to sell his last paintings to support their infant son. Verstraelen borrowed Avercamp's landscape compositions with their deep horizons, subtle atmospheric effects and thin trees, a distant legacy of the works of Pieter Brueghel the Elder and Gillis van Coninxloo. This artistic lineage enabled him to adopt the independent genre of winter landscape (only one summer landscape by him is known); Dutch society in the 17th century made it possible for painters specialising in very specific genres to develop a clientele. The harsh winters of 1602-1603, followed by those of 1620-1621, provided lasting inspiration for Dutch painters. Under their brushes, the rigours of the climate were used as a pretext to illustrate conviviality and leisure. The frozen canal became both a place to play and a means of transport, a scene where life persists and comes alive thanks to the cold: this is still the case today, since every house in the Netherlands keeps at least one pair of ice skates in its house. Verstraelen's winter landscapes, beyond their picturesque charm, usually feature everyday people in the foreground, while a frozen canal stretches through a village to the horizon. He often added two elegantly dressed figures, here on the left, observing the scene and guiding the viewer's gaze towards the centre of the composition. On the other side of the river, a village rises up, with children playing near a wooden hut - all Breughelian details that contrast with the bright monochrome atmosphere of a winter's day. Anthonie VERSTRAELEN (Gorinchem, 1594 - Amsterdam, 1641) 17.5 x 28 cm