Summer: a landscape with peasants, cattle and sheep; and Winter: a village scene with skaters on a frozen lake

Jacob Grimmer was one of the first Netherlandish painters to depart from the earlier tradition of landscape painting pioneered by Joachim Patinir in the first half of the 15th Century. Grimmer moved away from the depiction of large-scale panoramic mountain views, with high horizons in favour of a more naturalistic style. His works are characterised by a simple portrayal of everyday life, and as here, he frequently explored the theme of the Seasons in order to depict the Flemish peasantry in a variety of pursuits.