xi ISACK VAN OSTADE 523 but farther back than the left-hand group, a woman sits on a hand-sledge, looking round to the left at a man who bends down on his right knee to fasten his left skate. A white poodle watches him. In the right middle distance is the high river bank, in which a waggon with two horses goes away to the background. Signed in full on the left at foot ; panel, 13 inches by 23^ inches. Mentioned by G. Mtiller in the Dresdener Journal of May 30, and June i, 1880. From the La Bouexiere collection, Paris, 1754, according to Miiller. In the Dresden Gallery, 1905 catalogue, No. 1491. 251. SKATING (or, A River Scene in Winter). On a stretch of ice, bounded by a narrow strip of land in the far distance, are numerous sledges and skaters. On a projecting bank to the left are two peasants with a child ; one man puts on his skates. Nearer the front is a fish- basket. In the centre a man pushes another man on a sledge. On the right are five children playing golf and two skaters. On the extreme right, at the edge of the ice, is a leafless tree. Signed in full on the right at foot ; panel, 8 inches by 1 1 inches. Exhibited at Munich, 1869. In the collection of Georg Finger des Raths, Frankfort-on-Main ; but not in the sale catalogue of 1874. Acquired for Frankfort in 1892, from the Gontard bequest. In the Stadel'sches Kunstinstitut, Frankfort-on-Main, 1900 catalogue, No. 2050. 252. A WINTER LANDSCAPE. In a snow-bound landscape there is a great gnarled tree in the right middle distance. On the road to the left a man drives a four-wheeled waggon laden with brushwood towards the right foreground ; the horse moves on with difficulty. On the left, in front of it, a woman and a boy go to the left. Signed in full ; panel, 14^ inches by 20 inches. Mentioned in the Copenhagen inventory of 1737. In the Copenhagen Museum, 1904 catalogue, No. 257. 253. A CANAL SCENE IN WINTER. On a frozen canal, which fills the whole foreground and goes away to the left distance, are many people skating or sledging. In the right foreground sits a man seen from the back ; he bends forward to fasten on his right skate. Beyond is a walled town with towers, stretching away along the canal bank. In the centre of the middle distance is a sledge with a grey horse. In the left foreground is a boat by the bank. Genuine, but not attractive for Ostade. Signed in full, and dated 1644 ; canvas, 35 inches by 44 inches. In the collection of Antoine Brasseur, 1885. In the Lille Museum, A. Brasseur bequest, 1893 catalogue, No. 583. 254. FROST SCENE. Sm. 38, and Suppl. 31. A frozen river. On the high bank to the right is a cottage, with a tree behind it. At the door on the right are three men, one of them seated. A small wooden bridge with a handrail crosses the river, and reaches the left bank by a steep flight of steps up which a man climbs with a bundle of brushwood
