Lot 2081 N α

Like the previous lot, this work by Jacob Duck also depicts an interior scene with soldiers and a lady. This piece may have been painted later, at least according to the listing in Nanette Salomon's catalogue raisonné (op. cit.). A pile of valuables is arranged at the soldiers' feet, including silver vessels and a length of fine cloth, which can be interpreted as the gentlemen's rewards for their hard work fighting the wars. The lady in the opulent gown appears to belong to the same category. She forms the centre of both the figural group and the work itself, and turns enticingly towards the beholder, whom she seems to greet with her raised tankard. Jacob Duck's contemporaries loved merry genre pieces such as this, especially ones painted with such astonishing fineness. His works are characterised by their similarly designed interiors. He almost always painted schematic, high-ceilinged rooms as a neutral backdrop for his lively and vivacious scenes.