Lot 2048 Dα

Jan Miense Molenaer, who was married to the painter Judith Leyster, began his career in the manner of Dirk Hals and later developed into peasant depictions in the Haarlem tradition like Adriaen Brouwer and Adriaen van Ostade.
The present panel belongs to his mature œuvre and can be associated with other paintings of this period because of the typical contrapuntal compositions, the preference for still lifes and the grotesque depiction of the figures, whose facial features are deformed by merriment or anger.
For comparison, see the painting Slap Hands/Handjeklap in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest (inv. no. 264).