9 Winter Paintings Inspired by Real Events

Winter landscapes have been a feature of art for hundreds of years—and while many focus on landscape alone, there are also some that allude to the historical context of their times, or portray events from the more distant past. Here is a chronological look at nine winter paintings that hint at, or were inspired by, actual historical events.

1. Hunters in the Snow // Pieter Bruegel
2. Thames Frost Fair // Thomas Wyke
3. Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps // J. M. W. Turner
4. The Sea of Ice // Caspar David Friedrich 
5. The North (later known as The Icebergs) // Frederic Edwin Church
6. Skaters in the Bois de Boulogne // Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1868)
7. Effect of Snow at Petit-Montrouge // Édouard Manet
8. The Underground Railroad // Charles T. Webber
9. Over the Top // John Nash

Hunters in the Snow // Pieter Bruegel

Pieter Bruegel’s 1565 painting Jagers in de Sneeuw (Hunters in the Snow) is also known by the alternative title of Winter—fitting for one of the most notable winter landscapes in Western art. What’s also notable is that it depicts the effects of the Little Ice Age, a historical period from the 14th to the early 19th centuries that saw a series of extremely cold winters in Europe. Bruegel’s painting is set in the middle of this period and shows how this cold era in European history affected on the people living in it, in ways both positive and negative. In the background we can see people enjoying themselves skating on the ice, but in the foreground are a group of hunters having returned with what looks like a meager haul from their quest through the snow. 

Thames Frost Fair // Thomas Wyke

England also felt the effects of the Little Ice Age—and one enjoyable consequence of the freeze that became a part of London life were frost fairs, which took place on the Thames during winters when it was cold enough for the river to freeze over. Dutch painter Thomas Wyke captured a frost fair that took place during the exceptionally cold winter of 1683 in Thames Frost Fair (1684). It shows people setting up tents and stalls on the frozen river, and a horse is pulling a cart across the ice; in the distance is a bridge over the then-icy waters. According to History Today, “It was this Fair … that set the pattern for the five that followed it.” The Thames would freeze over for the last time in 1814.

Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps // J. M. W. Turner

British artist Joseph Mallord William Turner painted contemporary scenes as well as historical and mythical events, and his 1812 painting Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps alludes to a genuine historical figure. Hannibal (247 BCE–182 BCE) was a general of Carthage who led his army to multiple victories against the Romans. This painting shows a famous episode where he and his troops crossed the Alps on the way to Spain, taking 37 elephants along the way as he traveled through the snow. Turner shows just one of the animals in the lower right corner of the painting; some believe the figure on the elephant is Hannibal himself.

The Sea of Ice // Caspar David Friedrich 

German painter Caspar David Friedrich was fascinated by images of humanity overwhelmed by nature, as seen in his paintings of people contemplating vast landscapes (like Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog), and plants growing over the ruins of buildings (The Abbey in the Oakwood). This is also expressed in his 1823–24 painting Das Eismeer (The Sea of Ice, and also known as The Polar Sea), which shows the wreck of a ship in fragmented sea ice. It’s believed that Friedrich was inspired by explorer William Edward Parry’s Arctic expedition from 1819–20 and his search for the Northwest Passage. The painting can be seen as an allusion to this historical episode, despite its portrayal of a much bleaker outcome to a voyage through icy seas (Parry and his ships made it home).

The North (later known as The Icebergs) // Frederic Edwin Church

This painting alludes to history—though not in the way that you might think. American artist Frederic Edwin Church was inspired to create it after a voyage to the Arctic (which was itself inspired by exploration of the region taking place at that time). He named it The North (1861) as an allusion to the states in the northern U.S., which stayed together following the secession of other states during the American Civil War. Church debuted the painting just days after the fighting began. He later added the broken mast in the foreground and changed the title to the more literal choice of The Icebergs, which is what the painting is most commonly known by today.

Skaters in the Bois de Boulogne // Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1868)

The 1868 painting Les patineurs à Longchamp (Skaters in the Bois de Boulogne) by Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir not only shows a social wintry scene, but also reflects a major aspect of the history of Paris in the 19th century. In the 1850s, at the direction of Napoleon III, Georges-Eugène Haussmann began renovations on the city that drastically changed much of its landscape. One of the areas that was redesigned and revitalized was the Bois du Boulogne. The park did not exist in this form until the decade before Renoir’s artwork was painted, and the image captures the sense that the park became what a paper published in The Journal of Western Society for French History calls “a social and cultural institution” and “the epicenter of Parisian society” in the late 19th century.

Effect of Snow at Petit-Montrouge // Édouard Manet

Some winter landscapes might, at first glance, seem like innocuous snow scenes—but they turn out to be connected to more sobering events. Manet’s 1870 painting Effet de neige à Petit-Montrouge (Effect of Snow on Petit-Montrouge) is one such painting. It depicts the titular Parisian suburb of Petit-Montrouge during what was actually a huge moment of crisis for France: the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. Manet served in the conflict, and the experience provided inspiration for later pieces of art as well. 

The Underground Railroad // Charles T. Webber

This 1893 painting by Charles T. Webber shows a scene of people traveling in winter with the help of the Underground Railroad, the network that helped enslaved people escape their captors in 19th century America. Webber, a Cincinnati resident, painted it as a tribute to the railroad “conductors” he had met in the city (some of them even appear in the painting). It has become an iconic image that is often used to illustrate historical articles about the subject of the railroad. The painting was first exhibited at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 and now belongs to the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Over the Top // John Nash

This sombre painting shows an event from the First World War—one in which the artist himself was involved. John Nash’s Over the Top (1918) depicts a counterattack at Welsh Ridge that took place on December 30, 1917. Sixty-eight soldiers were killed; Nash was one of just 12 survivors. He painted it three months later and it continues to be his most famous work to this day.