With many of us recently experiencing the first dustings of snow this winter, I found myself thinking about the many snow-inspired images that we have in the collection at Aberdeen Art Gallery.
Scottish artist Joseph Farquharson made his reputation painting winter scenes and Afterglow is one of my favourite pieces in the gallery. Painted in the Forest of Birse on the Finzean estate, it captures the irresistible lure of a landscape draped in snow. Footprints can be seen frozen in the ground, shadowy echoes of adventures past. I imagine the crunch underfoot, that feeling so satisfying that you get from walking in snow. Rabbits emerge from their hiding places as evening draws near and the light bathes the forest in a pink glow.
Afterglow, Joseph Farquharson, 1912
It is this glow that is so mesmerising. Something of the magic of snow is captured in it. Like the calm after a storm, as if someone shook a snow globe too vigorously, the landscape has settled. It is at peace. Tranquil. Silent. Perhaps this is the appeal for me. When I look at the painting it brings me to a meaningful pause. A moment of mindfulness where I can be still. In a chaotic world, snow forces us to slow down. And we can escape.
Children Playing in Snow, c.1906
To adventures sledging down slopes and building snowman. We can be children again. Seeing the world through fresh eyes. Perhaps this is why Farquharson was so inspired by the snow. His painterly eyes constantly reinvigorated.
Melting Snow, Birse, Alexander Sillars Burns (undated)
Farquharson was not the only painter inspired by the snow however. There are many snowscapes in the collection, including Alexander Sillars Burns’ Melting Snow and Sir William Gillies’ Last of the Snow. Here the artists reflect on the landscape as the snow starts to slowly disappear. There is a melancholy, almost resigned kind of feel to the paintings, perhaps a reflection of how we feel when the flakes of glitter begin to fade and turn to slush. We know its beauty is only ever transient, a temporary escapism from familiar landscapes. All the more so to enjoy it while it lasts (and before we start to get bored of it!)
Last of the Snow, Sir William Gillies, (undated)
You can see examples of work by Joseph Farquharson on display in Gallery 9: Balmoral Phenomenon at Aberdeen Art Gallery.
