Winter Landscape on the River Ijsel, near Kampen, Holland

Winter Landscape on the River Ijssel, near Kampen, Holland, painted in 1615 and now in the Guildhall Art Gallery in London, provides geographical specificity unusual in Avercamp's generally generic winter landscapes. Kampen, a prosperous Hanseatic trading town on the Ijssel, was where Avercamp lived from 1613 onward, and views of the town and its river appear in several of his works. The Ijssel was a major commercial waterway, and its freezing in winter transformed it from a working river into a recreational and social space. By naming the location, Avercamp — or later inscribers — gave this painting a documentary character that distinguished it from the more generic frozen-river panoramas. The 1615 date makes this an early Kampen work, painted shortly after the artist's relocation from Amsterdam. The Guildhall Art Gallery, which focuses primarily on works with London connections, acquired this work as part of its Dutch and Flemish holdings — evidence of the active market for Avercamp's winter scenes in Britain as well as the Netherlands.

The identifiable town of Kampen appears in the background, its characteristic church spires and gabled buildings serving as topographical landmarks. The river's frozen surface occupies the middle and foreground, populated with figures at various activities. Atmospheric perspective deepens the sense of winter cold through the blue-grey softening of distant forms.