Oskar Moll: Snow Lanscape with Red Bridge (1942)

By Michael J.W. Stickings

After a fairly mild fall, winter has hit Toronto hard over the past couple of weeks. It's snowed quite a bit and it's been very, very cold. Right now, late at night, it's -12 celsius, and the wind chill, as usual, is brutal.

In selecting a winter-related painting to post tonight, I considered various works by the likes of the Japanese Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) and the Canadian Tom Thomson (1877-1917), famous artists both, and justifiably so. But this work by the relatively unknown Austrian Oskar Moll (1875-1947), at the MoMA in New York, seems to capture the essence of winter, the blanket of snow and ice and cold that has enveloped us.

Wherever you are, be safe. And if it's winter where you are, stay warm. We'll be back with the political blogging shortly.