Jan van Goyen, Skating Scene before the Noorderpoort. 1627

Skating Scene before the Noorderpoort in Hoorn (1627), by Jan van Goyen (1596 - 1656)

This winter scene is populated by various Dutch men and womes skating and playing games. In the forground three figures are playing colf, a game in which three opponents try to hit a ball with a club. To the right of the players, a woman is sitting in a sleigh while being pushed by a man.

Van Goyen was a prolific painter who created hundreds of these stunning small landscapes which were very popular with contemporary collectors.

Oil on panel. Cross section 34 cm. Signed and dated: I V Goyen 1627.

Bequeathed by Reginald Jones, 1951

Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology, Oxford (WA1951.51.5)