Gerrit Battem Pen and brown ink and gouache PROVENANCE This scene bears many similarities to a drawing in the collection of Maida and George Abrams. In both cases, the composition is dominated on the right by ruined buildings and ragged cottages which indicate the threatening nature of the physical surroundings and the struggle for survival on the very edge of the shoreline. A windmill is described in the distance to the left, and a far off town is suggested against the skyline. In the foreground, skaters are accompanied by sledges skimming over the ice, whilst in the densely-peopled background, figures huddle around a Dutch flag. A hole has been cut in the ice for fishing. Part of the charm of these scenes is the frank nature in which they show leisure and work as well as the pleasures and hardships of winter. Differences of class are displayed both in dress and activity. The elegant men and women in the foreground sport wigs and warm cloaks as they stroll or ride in horse-drawn sleighs, whilst the labourers and huntsmen are more plainly dressed. The present sheet can also be compared with those in the Getty Museum, the Louvre, Berlin and elsewhere. Hans Verbeek has dated these drawings to the 1670s. Battem was born into a family of artists and received his early training from his uncles, Philips Koninck and Abraham Funerius. About forty of his landscape paintings survive, but he is admired above all for his fine gouaches. It is hard to date the works with certainty, as Battem's style, once established, did not alter much in the course of his career. His winter scenes, of which our drawing is a strikingly well-preserved example, belong to the tradition established by Hendrik Avercamp, in which townsfolk are featured at work and leisure in often imaginary landscapes. |
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