Tavern scene with a large crowd of peasants drinking and merrymaking

Adriaen Brouwer (school of) 1605 - 1638

Summary

In this rowdy tavern scene, men and women are shown in various states of inebriation. In some instances, their excessive consumption of alcohol has led to debauchery. In the left foreground, a man clutching a jug slumps drunkenly on a chair; behind him one man fondles a woman's knee, while another caresses his partner's chin; in the centre foreground, a man attempts to steady himself on a narrow bench, perhaps seeking a place to fall asleep; in the right foreground, a woman hitches up her skirt, apparently adjusting her underwear. A large wooden barrel and many smaller kegs attest to an ample supply of beer, and about the room fallen stools, jugs and stoneware indicate that most of it has been consumed. The artist, a follower of Adriaen Brouwer, could have been active in Flanders or Holland. Brouwer is recorded in Amsterdam in 1625, after which he was probably working in Haarlem until he joined the Guild of St Luke in Antwerp in 1631-2. His unsentimental depictions of peasants are characterised by great attention to their facial expressions, which register a wide range of emotions. The figures in this panel are somewhat smaller than Brouwer usually painted them, so that it is the composition and the gestures, rather than detailed facial features, that lend most to the narrative.