Christmas - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 2012 - 62 Euro Cent

"Hunter in the Snow" is a year-round image of Pieter Breughel the Elder created in 1565, 117 x 162 cm, and the first known European large-scale painting with snow. It belongs to the valuable collection of the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum and is also known under the title "Heimkehr der Jäger". While older pictures of the month show mainly seasonal activities, the winterly nature undoubtedly dominates in the figurative work; People are either tiny or marginalized. Everything alive, such as humans, animals and trees, is dark and thus intensifies the impression of life-destroying desolation. - In general, it can be said that rugged mountains and mountain landscapes often appear in Breughel's work, even if this does not coincide with the topography of his Flemish homeland. The artist had the traditions after the return of an early stay in Italy on an Alpine trip, probably through southern Switzerland, availed, and he must have impressed the high mountains probably deep. An alpine landscape with a castle can also be seen on another Breughel's seasonal image ("The gloomy day"); In his painting "The Conversion of Paul," a motif taken from Acts, the artist unceremoniously moved the entire scenery, deviating from the biblical account, into a rugged high mountain range