A winter landscape with figures skating, a village and church beyond

As pointed out by Dr. Ulrick Middendorf, who confirmed the attribution of the present work prior to its sale in 2008, this composition was probably inspired by Jan van de Cappelle's picture of 1653 in the Mauritshuis, The Hague (inv. no. 567). It clearly proved successful for Dubbels, as at least three other versions are known, all of which vary considerably in their detail and the deployment of figures. These include one on a similar scale in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm; a canvas formerly attributed to Ludolf Backhuysen (himself a pupil of Dubbels) in the Statens Museum voor Kunst, Copenhagen; and another sold at Christie's, New York, 15 April 2008, lot 280 (see U. Middendorf, Hendrik Jacobsz. Dubbels (1621-1707), Freren, 1989, pp. 177-179, nos. 138 and 142).

Hendrick Dubbels, born in Amsterdam to a diamond cutter, spent his career there painting seascapes and winter landscapes. Primarily a marine artist, his early works followed Jan Porcellis’s restrained 'tonal' style. Around 1650-53, while working in Simon de Vlieger’s studio, he encountered Jan van de Cappelle and Willem van de Velde the Younger, whose influence shaped his artistic development, and his rank for a time rivalled their own as one of Amsterdam's leading marine painters.