WINTER SCENE WITH SKATERS ON A FROZEN RIVER
18th century
Hendrik Willem Schweickardt (Hamm 1746 - London 1797)
Oil on panel
14 3/4 x 20 3/4 inches; 37.5 x 52.7 cm.
Inventory number: HWS_01
Hendrik Willem Schweickardt in German language – Hendrik Willem Schweickhardt (1746-1797) was a German painter who came to The Hague in 1775, where he was the pupil of Hieronymus Lapis (active 1758-1788). In 1885 he moved to London where he spent the rest of his life.
As pointed out by E.J. Sluijter (Hendrik Willem Schweickhardt (1746-1797), Oud Holland, LXXXIX, 1975, p. 166) Schweickhardt can be credited with reviving the winter landscape at the end of the 18th century, thus stimulating the flowering of this genre in the mid-19th century by Romantic artists like Andreas Schelfhout and Charles Leickert.
His paintings are in the museum collections including Victoria and Albert Museum London.