Winter Landscape c. 1885 - 1922

Willem Witsen made this painting, Winter Landscape, with oil on canvas. Imagine standing there with Witsen, brush in hand, the cold seeping into your bones, trying to capture that muted, silvery light. There's something so simple and still about this painting. Look how he laid down those strokes to build up the snow, not too thick, but just enough to give it some body. You can almost feel the quiet stillness that settles over everything after a heavy snowfall. It’s not trying to be flashy or loud. Instead, it's about capturing a feeling, a mood. The bare trees are like delicate scratches against the sky, and the little houses huddle together under their caps of snow. You can see the influence of the Hague School of painting in its subdued tones and focus on atmosphere. Artists have always been in conversation with one another. We all learn from the ones who came before. Painting is all about finding your own voice in that ongoing conversation.