Sunday, January 9, 2011

Object of the Day: An Antique Snow Scene

As the snow falls here in North Texas (at least temporarily), I thought I’d present this antique painting. Though unsigned, the canvas is dated 1846. I know it comes from Canada and was purchased with a lot of antiques several years ago.


It’s an unusual painting inasmuch as landscape artists usually depict scenes of majestic greenery. Here, we have a rather desolate scene. The bare tree and the rocks are an interesting counterpoint to the cool grays and whites of the snow and ice.

For many of us, this is what we’re seeing when we look out of our windows. A painting such as this reminds us that beneath that blanket of coldness, lies something wonderful and alive. It’s a rather fitting metaphor for life.



2 comments:

SherR said...

"Ode to the West Wind" by P.B Shelley:

O Wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being,
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven...
Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed

The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low...
Until
Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow...

And fill
(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air)
With living hues and odours plain and hill...

O Wind!
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?

Joseph Crisalli said...

Very fitting! How nice. Thank you for sharing that.