Winter 1660

Jan van Ossenbeeck’s ‘Winter’ presents a detailed scene etched with fine lines that define a stark, wintry landscape and its inhabitants. The tonal range, achieved through meticulous hatching and cross-hatching, creates a textural depth that invites the viewer to examine the scene closely. Ossenbeeck constructs a composition where the figures are grouped into distinct clusters, each engaged in separate activities that speak to the season's demands. The structural arrangement of the figures, architecture and landscape elements invite you to consider how the composition's formal structure mirrors the social structure of labor and community during winter. The etching uses signs and symbols like the bare trees and huddled figures. The spatial organization and contrasts between light and shadow destabilize established meanings around winter, challenging you to consider the season not just as a time of hardship, but also as one that brings communities together through labor and resilience.