Even though most people in North America, north of the 37th parallel or so, are pretty tired of seeing show (and wishing they could send it to Sochi, where they are apparently having trouble keeping it from melting during the Winter Olympics), there is one sub-group of people who see snow differently — painters.
Some painters see in the snow covered landscape a subject as irresistible as the most brilliant colors of spring. This was particularly true among the French Impressionists, who pursued their fascination with the effects of light on the landscape avidly in the snows of winter.
Monet, Pissarro and Caillebotte are known for their landscapes in which they evoked the “effect of snow”. The fascination with snow scenes was especially strong for Alfred Sisley, who painted villages, roads and hillsides that convey not only the subtle light and color of the snowy landscape, but the sense of stillness and quiet that is part of the experience.
There is a page on the Web Gallery of Art that lists and links to larger versions of many of the paintings shown above.
