Frost Fair on a Frozen River with Ships

Draughtsman Hendrik Kobell, who died young, drew mainly marine and coastal views with ships. His hometown of Rotterdam had a large harbour, which traded extensively with England and America. After Hendrick Avercamp and Jan van Goyen, frost fairs – with people skating and walking on the ice and food stalls – had become a traditional genre in Dutch art. Kobell’s icebound ships added a new motif to t…