Winter, Peder Mork Monnsted, oil on canvas, 32 x 48 inches (84 x 122 cm). Link is to 2023 past auction on Sotheby’s; large image here from this article on the At Sunnyside blog.
Peder Mork Monsted, the wonderful Danish landscape painter, was noted for his snow scenes and their remarkable fidelity to the light and color of the season.
The view here is contra-jour (literally “against the day”), looking into the sun, which is stragetically located behind a tree. The light and shadow fan out as they approach us, the diagonals inviting us further into the scene, to the modest house and delicate filigrees of the distant trees. .
Look at how he’s indicated the reeds and grasses protruding from the snow, many set in small depressions. Note the muted colors of the shadows, the bold yet subtle value statement, and, most remarkably, the evocative way he has presented the partly iced stream.
Happy Winter Solstice!
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