Light post

Aert van der Neer 17th century, "Winter landscape with skaters"

The 16th and 17th centuries were the playground of many great Dutch painters: Pieter Bruegel, Avercamp, Vermeer, Rembrandt...to name just a few of these masters of light. During all the years we spent in The Netherlands we have had many opportunities to admire their work in beautiful exhibitions; among them, "Holland Frozen in Time, The Dutch Winter Landscape in the Golden Age" - an inspiring exhibition full of treasures in the perfect setting of the Mauritshuis, in The Hague! 

These days, the Dutch landscape is surprisingly bringing back to life the so famous Dutch light - that unique, fresh winter light, taking us into a world of soft, golden sunrays reflected on the cold, white surface of thick ice on which the sound of hockey bats and skates echoes in a metallic sound. 

The frozen canals, fields and houses are telling us a precious story: the accurately painted scenes of lost times are not a thing of the past. Despite the centuries that have gone by, there is a strong link, a powerful enlightening thread that has survived and feeds our present here, in The Netherlands. The light that is still vibrating and bridging the gap between generations. Oh, certainly, colf bats players have now turned into lively hockey players and the social life on the iced canals is reduced, but the atmosphere is nevertheless the same, immuable, poetic... and it provides enchanting winter scenes, where humans and animals alike seem framed in the cold and sparkling decor, surrounded by hanging puffs of air full of hopes and promises...

Hendrick Avercamp 17th century, "Winter scene with colf players"