RSA Scottish Art
Kirkcudbright under Snow
 | Artist: Charles Oppenheimer |
| Title: Kirkcudbright under Snow | |
| Year: c. 1933 | |
| Medium: oil on canvas | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: | |
| Source: RSA Diploma Collection | |
| View full screen image of this work | |
| Open print version of this work | |
| Description: Charles Oppenheimer was a landscape specialist whose work concentrates on the changing light and seasons of Galloway, Ayrshire and Italy.Kirkcudbright under Snow shows that Oppenheimer was also a fine topographical artist as well as an accurate observer and skilled painter of snow scenes. The solidity of the stone buildings and bare trees contrasts with the eerie quality of the wintry scene as a whole. The fine distinctions between the reflected colours on the snow and slush give this painting a subtlety and insight which is difficult for artists to capture. This view of the town from high above the rooftops adds to the sense of lightness and grace. Could the same scene, painted at a different time of year, have the same peaceful feeling?The painting has been executed with a very skilled draughtsman's eye and great attention to the cool colours and pale tones of a snowy day. Oppenheimer has used paint with great skill to indicate the texture of different substances, such as stone, slush, wet pavements and wisps of smoke. The hills on the horizon have been faded to a pale blue, indicating the moisture in the air.The mood of the painting perfectly sums up a winter's day. The sense of quiet and peace is dominant, and the pale, peachy light softens the feel of the scene to one of tranquillity. Oppenheimer shows how the landscape becomes unified in winter, the town and countryside are no longer separate, but are both silenced by the blanket of snow. Have you ever tried to paint an unfamiliar substance like snow, ice, moving water or smoke? | |
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