Northern European school, ca. 1800

Northern European school, ca. 1800.
"Assembly of characters at the foot of an inn".
Oil on canvas.
Measurements: 107 x 128 cm.

Contemplating the canvas in bidding we observe as it is undeniable its influence of works of great artists like David Teniers (Antwerp, 1610- Brussels, 1690), who in turn departed from his teacher Adriaen Brouwer (Belgium, 1605/1606- Antwerp, 1638) and Jan Brueghel "The Old" (Brussels, 1568-Antwerp, 1625), all of them repeating the same idyllic vision of the peasant world, very used also by the Flemish literature of the moment. The work focuses on the representation of the kermesse, which is the name given to neighborhood festivals with food and drink stands, where games of skill, children's games, raffles and artistic performances take place. Because of its festive and carefree character, our canvas can also be related to "The Banquet of the People", an oil painting by Gillis Van Tilborgh the Younger (1625-1678) today preserved in the Museum of Fine Arts in Rouen, which shows a festive scene in a village, with peasants enjoying an opulent banquet at the foot of their houses. Works similar to these, where a group of characters gather at the foot of an inn or tavern, either to feast or to deliberate the important affairs of the village, became in the Flanders of the time a whole pictorial genre in itself.