![Giuseppe De Nittis - Winter Landscape [c.1880] by Gandalf's Gallery](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7329/9471581836_0e4d063b81.jpg)
Under a leaden sky, a solitary female figure makes her way across a snow-covered garden plot. The garden appears to be walled on three sides, but is open on the fourth to a tall suburban villa. Like the garden, the house seems to be new. The setting may be a suburb of Paris. The sketch seems to have been painted from high up, perhaps from the upper window of a neighbouring house.
Trained in Naples, the Italian-born painter Giuseppe de Nittis settled in Paris in 1868. There he befriended many of the Impressionist artists, particularly Edgar Degas. Five of De Nittis' paintings were included in the First Impressionist Exhibition of 1874. He was committed to a naturalistic art that explored the changing play of light. He frequently painted snow scenes, showing solitary figures in wintry streets or parks. He also specialised in depictions of the newly constructed areas of Paris and its suburbs. Under the influence of Japanese prints, he often left large open areas in his pictures, relegating buildings to the edges.
[National Gallery, London - Oil on wood, 21.4 x 26.8 cm]