Walk in the Spree Forest, winted landscape

Massive old trees stretch their bare branches across a snowy lane in this tranquil winter scene by German painter Walter Moras, made around 1900. The setting is the Spreewald, a wooded area near Berlin famous for its maze of small waterways and its slow country pace. Far down the path, a lone figure walks along, so small against the wide landscape that you might miss them at first glance. Overhead the sky glows with soft pinks and golds, the mark of a low winter sun sinking into late afternoon and casting a gentle warmth over the frozen ground.

Landscapes were Moras's specialty, and he painted them in the naturalistic style that German audiences loved during his career. His skill shows in the details here, from the heavy dabs of paint building up the rough tree bark to the cool blue shadows sitting in the footprints along the trail. Nothing about the picture tries to impress or surprise, and that quiet honesty is really its charm. Moras simply wanted to capture a still, cold moment in the countryside, and he did exactly that.