Allegory of the four seasons: Winter

This etching and engraving was made in Paris in the later 18th century by Jean-Charles Levasseur  (1734-1816), one of the leading printmakers of his time and a member of the Academy. He is probably best-known for his engravings after Jean-Baptiste Greuze. Hence the French title, which translates as 'The cold-sensitive man'. The old bearded man, with his fur-hat and fur-trimmed coat, carrying a brazier and a stick, is walking miserably towards the right. In the background, people are skating on a frozen lake - unlike him, they are enjoying themselves. The verse below the image translates thus:  'As long as the winter/Doesn't freeze our senses/ One can put up with frosts and the North wind/ But can we when our beard is grey?’

The print is based on a painting by the Flemish painter David Teniers the Younger (1610-90), famous for his luminous - and often humorous - depictions of peasant life, then in the impressive Teniers collection of Gilbert-Antoine Ligier de la Prade, in Paris. A small painting by Teniers that corresponds almost perfectly to the print, entitled An allegory of the four seasons: Winter, was sold with its companion pieces at Christie's, Amsterdam, 40th Anniversary Sale, 20 November 2012 (lot 26). Te Papa has four such prints in Teniers/Levasseur series, all of which were presented to the Colonial Museum by Bishop Ditlev Monrad in 1869.

Sources:

British Museum Collection online, https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1529102&partId=1&peo ple=117296&peoA=117296-2-60&page=1

Christie's: https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/david-teniers-ii-antwerp-1610-1690-brussels-5619871-details.aspx

Dr Mark Stocker    Curator, Historical International Art   March 2019