Rijksmuseum

A Young Woman Warming her Hands over a Brazier: Allegory of Winter

Date

c. 1650

Medium

canvas, oil paint (paint)

Institution

Rijksmuseum

The young woman warms her hands above a dish of glowing coals. She personifies Winter. This season was usually represented as a shabbily dressed old man or woman: old because the year is coming to an end, and poor because crops do not grow in the winter. Van Everdingen's choice of a young, richly attired woman is thus rather unusual.

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