Winter landscapes offered Brusselmans the opportunity to work with strong contrasts. In this painting, the snow forms a large white surface in which dark trees stand out like symbols. The paint is applied thickly, turning even the white into matter. There is little detail; forms are reduced to simple volumes. The result is a tranquil image in which the cold and silence are almost palpable. Brusselmans uses the emptiness of snow to reveal structure. The landscape becomes a study in surface division and rhythm, not in weather representation.
