Lot 2063 Dα

Adriaen van Ostade is considered the father of the Dutch peasant painting (Bernhard Schnackenburg). Although he was taught by Frans Hals, this painter's influence is only felt indirectly in van Ostade's works. His interior scenes populated by small figures, which Ostade painted at the height of his career, would have been foreign to Frans Hals. The older painter's influence is felt less in the style of his pupil, and more in his general approach to painting. The same applies to the frequently discussed influence of Rembrandt on Ostade, which is primarily recognised in his colour palette.
The present work is not one of the atmospheric peasant interiors for which this artist is primarily known, but an outdoor scene. However, it still displays the characteristic melding of figures with the scenery that Ostade achieves through the skilful use of light and colour. A dancing figure of a peasant in a red shirt and tall hat before the tavern forms the central motif of the work. This detail must have been important for the artist, as he also rendered it in a study now kept in the Städel Museum in Frankfurt (B. Schnackenburg: Adriaen van Ostade. Isaak van Ostade. Zeichnungen und Aquarelle, 1981, vol. I, p. 104, no. 119. illus. vol. II, p. 62.)