Love of Winter 1914

George Bellows made this painting, called *Love of Winter*, with oil on canvas. You can feel Bellows's energy in the quick strokes and the almost monochromatic palette of blues and whites punctuated by pops of ochre, red, and green. I wonder if he was thinking about Bruegel and his winter scenes when he made this. I can imagine Bellows standing outside in the cold, trying to capture the feeling of a bustling winter scene. The paint is applied thickly, almost like frosting. See how the brushstrokes create a sense of movement and energy, like the figures are gliding and slipping on the ice? Look at how the blues in the background become like dark slashes toward the top of the canvas, creating a sense of ominous space. Each mark is a record of his observation and interpretation. Bellows gives us not just a depiction of winter, but an embodied experience of it, reminding us that painting is a conversation across time.