Winter: zes naakte kinderen spelend bij een vuur 1671

Matthias Scheits created this etching of six naked children playing by a fire during the Dutch Golden Age, a period of immense cultural and economic growth for the Netherlands. Scheits situates his image of winter in the realm of childhood, choosing to depict it through the rosy, if perhaps a bit cold, cheeks of youth. The children, clustered around a blazing fire, represent the human need for warmth and community in the face of winter's chill. There’s something almost defiant in their nudity, a rejection of winter's imposed constraints and a celebration of the uninhibited vitality of youth. But it’s also hard to ignore that childhood, especially in the 17th century, was a highly gendered and classed experience. The carefree image obscures the reality of labor and social stratification, a subtle reminder of the privileges that allow for such innocence to be captured and celebrated. This artwork, then, is both an idyllic scene and a coded commentary on the complexities of society and survival.