“A very beautiful Oil Painting, quarto size, portraying Winter in diminutive Figures”: An unknown Winter Landscape with Bird Trap and the Flight into Egypt

The inventory of the Royal Danish Kunstkammer in 1737 references a notable item: 'A very beautiful Oil Painting, quarto size, portraying Winter in diminutive Figures'. By 1871, this artwork had found a place at Fredensborg Palace, only to be relocated in 1910 to its current home at the National Gallery of Denmark (SMK) in Copenhagen. Following a recent restoration, this oil-on-copper masterpiece now dazzles viewers with its resplendence. Notably, it stands as only the sixth and possibly the first rendition of the Winter Landscape with Bird Trap, wherein the Flight into Egypt is delicately discernible amidst the myriad tiny figures. Based on extensive visual analysis, infrared and XRF-analysis as well as pigment identification this paper will delve into various facets of its creation around 1600, exploring its connections to the five other versions and its unique position among the 150 other interpretations of this iconic composition .