By David Teniers The Younger, Second Half Of The 17th Century, Room For Drinking

By David Teniers the Younger, second half of the 17th century

Room for drinking

Oil on panel, cm 38 x 48

With frame, cm 41 x 51

The canvas is to be traced back to 17th century Flemish genre painting, particularly to the production of David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690), son and pupil of his father, known as the Old Man, from whom he learned the style of Rubens and Elsheimer. He then approached the painting of Frans Franken II and Adriaen Brouwer, both in terms of style and the themes represented. The genre scenes, often linked to the world of gambling, taverns, taverns or village parties, were his specialty and this work unquestionably testifies an extreme closeness. The interior of this tavern is dimly illuminated by a dense and warm amber light that gives the scene shades ranging from brown to ocher; coloristic homogeneity is interrupted by some details, rendered with a lenticular attention typically Flemish, that emerge in the costumes and accessories of the characters. The latter are divided into two tables, both engaged in drinking, smoking and gambling; the old gentleman dressed in blue seems to hold something in his right hand, probably dice used for the game. Each of the figures is captured with a psychological introspection all its own: boredom, disinterest, intoxication, concentration and expectation are read in the faces of the characters that surround the two tables.