Winter fun: Figures in a Schietschouw and skaters near a Koek-en-Zopie StandSigned on the side of the SchietschouwOil on canvas, 51.8 x 65.5 cmNote:Born as the son of a Dordrecht wine buyer, Leendert de Koningh showed early painting talent. He alternated between living in the Netherlands and England before settling permanently in Dordrecht in 1815. Here he painted mainly landscapes with cattle and shepherdesses or milkmaids, and sometimes, as this present lot is an example of, ice scenes.In this ice scene, he depicted a schietschouw, which is a light scaffold equipped with iron-studded shins (slides) that allow the boat to "skate" over the ice during winter times. When the ice becomes too thin and breaks, the schietschouw can sail along. These "ice skating boats" were mainly used to transfer goods or people across a river when it froze in the winter.* Condition report available upon request