Snowball fight – Frédéric Lix, 19th century

SNOWBALL FIGHT – A PLAYFUL BATTLE IN THE SNOW

Drawing in pencil, pen and watercolour by Frédéric Théodore Lix, second half of the 19th century. Signed “F. Lix” lower left. Size: 15 × 19 cm.

This lively 19th-century snowball fight drawing depicts a group of children engaged in an exuberant battle in a snow-covered landscape. Around a mound of snow, one boy waves the French tricolour, another beats a drum, while snowballs are hurled from every direction. In the thick of the battle, the participants tumble over one another. On the right, a boy has fallen backwards into the snow beside a ladder, apparently intended for storming the snowy fortification. In the foreground, fresh ammunition is already being prepared.

With a keen sense of movement and humour, Lix has captured the tumult of the scene. Through lively brushwork and a striking contrast between the bright shades of blue, warm browns and the white of the snow, the artist has created a wonderfully dynamic winter scene.

The French draughtsman and illustrator Frédéric Lix (1830–1897) was particularly renowned for his book illustrations and contributions to illustrated magazines, including Le Magasin pittoresque and L’Illustration. His work received an award at the Paris Salon of 1880 and was honoured with a bronze medal at the Exposition Universelle of 1889.

The scene evokes the winter fun so vividly described by the Dutch writer Hildebrand in his Camera Obscura (1840): “There the merriment reaches its height, and the little ones slide, scramble, whirl and spin among one another, tumble into a heap and pelt each other with snow.”

Price: €850, – (incl. frame)