Winter landscape with skaters

In the pictureSeen from a high vantage point, a frozen canal stretches far into the distance toward the right. The ice is crowded with skaters, kolf players hitting a ball with sticks, and people on foot; in the very center someone has fallen, and on the right a red horse-drawn sleigh can be seen. On the left are brick houses with snow-covered roofs and a bluish church tower, and leafless trees stand at both ends. In the lower left corner, crows and a dog are tearing at the carcass of a horse that froze to death.

BackgroundAvercamp (1585–1634) worked mainly in Kampen, a town in the eastern Netherlands, and is said to have been nicknamed "the Mute of Kampen" because he could not speak. He specialized in winter scenes of people on the ice, and this painting is an early work from around 1608. The museum describes it as a kind of sample book that, thanks to the high viewpoint, gathers every sort of activity of people and animals in a harsh winter. Most are enjoying themselves, but some are working on the ice to make a living. The museum bought it in 1897 with the support of the Rembrandt Association.

Puzzle tipThe sky takes up nearly the upper half and is an even pale grayish white, which makes it the hardest part. First set up the frame with the church tower and red brick houses on the left and the black branches at both edges. On the ice, place the eye-catching things first, such as the red sleigh, the white boat trapped in the ice at the bottom center and the bare tree at the lower left. The figures are small and numerous, so every piece has a clue and the ice is surprisingly manageable. Fill in the sky last, watching for flying birds and differences in brightness. The recommended piece count is the Hard level, about 100 pieces.