Gezicht op een chalet in de sneeuw 1907 - 1930

Adolphe Burdet made this small image of a snow chalet sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century. The colour palette is muted, almost desaturated, lending the scene an antique, dreamlike quality. The dominant whites of the snow offset the darker tones of the building and trees. I imagine Burdet outside on a crisp winter's day trying to capture the stillness of this remote place. The chalet sits nestled in the snow, smoke rising from the chimney, maybe, and a solitary figure seated out front. A stark tree reaches up towards the sky. Painters make choices, and those choices can be practical or completely random. I imagine Burdet choosing this intimate scale to emphasize the insignificance of the figure in relation to the grandeur of the landscape. The small format adds to the feeling of the work. It's a world within a world. We look at it and think about our own place within the hugeness of time and space.