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Breadcrum print
| A group of people are gathered in front of a simple house that seems to be a country inn. The atmosphere is one of gaiety, for an itinerant violinist has come to the door to play a tune, accompanied by the boy in the red jacket who plays the hurdy-gurdy. The music is enjoyed by young and old alike. In the middle of the picture, a man sits on a bench, his legs wide apart, holding a tankard of beer. In the doorway, a woman leans on the lower half of the door and two men look out, trying to catch a glimpse of the musicians. Some children hang about outside, enjoying the excitement. A tousled girl steadies a child wearing only one shoe, and a little boy makes contact with a dog.
In similar fashion Adriaen van Ostade painted a great number of merry companies of peasants and country folk. Those paintings were intended for buyers who generally lived in the city. They found such scenes entertaining because of the funny rustics and their antics.
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artist
Adriaen van
Ostade |
title
The violinist |
period
1673 |
material
panel |
dimensions
45 x 42 cm |
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Uncomplicated people
This is one of Adriaen van Ostade’s late works. At the beginning of his career he painted rough and uncivilised peasants brawling, drinking, smoking and engaged in drunken conversation. Van Ostade’s later paintings display more appreciation for peasant life, with rustics who – despite their dishevelled appearance – are portrayed as uncomplicated, pleasure-loving people. In this work dating from 1673, the palette, too, is jollier than in Van Ostade’s previous work. His earlier works are more monochrome in character, whereas here the boy’s bright red jacket stands out against the greys and browns dominating the rest of the depiction.
The Mauritshuis owns another painting by this master that depicts a similar scene: Peasants before an inn of 1662. It similarly shows a violinist as the centre of attention amidst a group of children and adults, the latter mostly smoking or drinking.
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