Winter View of the Põltsamaa Castle

The view of the Põltsamaa castle is an outstanding example of the Rococo painting style, which was not common in Estonia. The painting was created by two artists. Gottlieb Welté came to Põltsamaa in 1781 from Mainz, one of the centres of the German Rococo style. A talented painter of gallant scenes, he added human figures to the spacious view of the castle created by Friedrich Hartmann Barisien, a painter from Courland. The crowd on the snow-covered field in front of the castle has gathered to watch a noble company enjoying a sleigh ride. The little boy is pointing to a mishap with the passengers in which one of the ladies has fallen out of her sleigh. Her dishevelled skirts reveal bare skin in a Rococo-like spirit of frivolousness. The man in a green coat in the group at the bottom right is thought to be Welté himself.