Flemish school; 17th century.

Flemish school; 17th century.
"Skaters on ice".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
It has frame of the nineteenth century.
Measurements: 40,5 x 29,5 cm; 50 x 40,5 cm (frame).
Painting in which a lively scene of skaters on ice is represented, in a vast and serene winter landscape, under a diffuse light typical of the cold months, a daily scene loaded with dynamism and humanity unfolds with meticulous richness of details: men, women and children glide on the frozen surface, while other characters converse or interact with bare trees.
The composition masterfully combines narrative order and spatial depth, guiding the eye through multiple smaller scenes that are articulated around the central axis of the ice. Each figure is treated with individual precision, endowed with natural gestures and plausible attitudes.
The theme of ice skaters became very popular among Flemish and Dutch artists in the 17th century, not only for its ability to offer a variety of human and anecdotal scenes, but also for its symbolic value as a metaphor for the transience of time and the fragility of existence. In this sense, the winter landscape genre, far from being a mere climatic representation, acquires a moral and philosophical dimension that connects with the spiritual concerns of the time.
The Flemish School is distinguished in this genre by its technical meticulousness, its narrative capacity and its particular sensitivity to everyday life and the natural landscape. This painting in particular, due to the complexity of its composition, the finesse of its execution and the depth of its social gaze, is rightfully inscribed in the tradition of masters such as Pieter Brueghel the Younger or Hendrick Avercamp, thus consolidating the prestige of the school as one of the most fruitful and influential of the European Baroque.