Deer in the Snow, 1928 – Alfred Weczerzick (1864-1952)

Oil on canvas painting, signed A. Weczerzick and dated 1928. It depicts a snow-covered mountain valley with fir woods, a hut in the distance and a herd of deer in the foreground, beneath a golden sky. The paint is applied in short strokes, and the weave of the canvas remains visible as an integral part of the painterly effect.

Artist: Alfred Weczerzick (1864-1952)
Period: 1928, dated
Technique: oil on canvas
Signature: lower left
Origin: Germany
Condition: very good
Frame: antique fir wood
Painting size: 66 x 86 cm
Size with frame: 70 x 90 cm

Oil on canvas depicting a winter mountain landscape with a herd of deer. The viewpoint is elevated, looking down over a deep valley enclosed by rounded ridges, entirely covered in snow. The sky fills the upper band and is laid in yellow and gold tones, built up with small touches of color that let the weave of the canvas show through.

The background is constructed in overlapping bands. The crests of the hills are defined in pink, lilac and blue-gray, with darker patches of woodland following the line of the slopes. In the center, in the distance, a hut with a snow-covered roof sits on the valley floor.

In the middle ground and foreground, groups of firs are rendered with vertical brushstrokes in brown, violet and blue. At the center of the composition stands a solitary, snow-laden fir whose silhouette divides the scene in two. On the left, a stand of firs descends the slope. On the right, a row of trees follows the hillside toward the edge of the canvas, and in front of it moves a herd of about ten deer, painted in warm brown. Some are walking, others stand still with their heads lowered. At the bottom, snowdrifts with light blue and blue shadows close the composition.

The paint is applied in short, parallel strokes, with thick impasto in the lit areas and thinner layers in the shadows. The canvas has a pronounced weave and, in several places, an orange ground shows between the ridges of the fabric. By contrast, this ground heightens the cool tones of the snow.

The signature in block capitals “A. WECZERZICK” and the date 1928 appear lower left. The painting is set in a 2 cm frame of antique fir wood, made to measure in our r