The winter of 1565
on February 8, 2008
in gv
Have you noticed? Every figure in the picture looks stooped and unnaturally bent forward: the hunters, the people by the fire, the two figures down there on the pond, in front, and all the skaters. Even those greyhounds are bent, they look so miserable and weird, remind me more of weasels than dogs. Is it because they are cold? It seems like a very severe winter. Or maybe they are an unhappy lot? The hunters return empty-handed. The village runs out of winter supplies. And on top of that the king imposed high duties this year…
No, it can’t be that. The soothing sensation that arises form contemplation of the painting tells me that this is just another winter afternoon in a faraway country inhabited by a nation different from all the other (the stooped figure being its characteristic trait), where dwarf-like people lead their perhaps hard, but definitely happy lives.
(michał_t)
