Interior of a Barn with Two Peasants Fighting

Adriaen van Ostade (school of) 1610 - 1685

Summary

This scene of everyday life is by a follower of the important Haarlem genre painter, Adrian van Ostade. A fight has erupted over a game of cards in a lofty barn. Two peasants are attacking one another with knives, while figures on either side try desperately to separate them. One peasant tries to gain the advantage by mounting a stool and pulling the other man down by his hair. The unfortunate victim stumbles, exposing himself to imminent harm. A large table has been pushed aside, and a bench and three-cornered stool lie overturned. Two men peer inquisitively through the upper section of the stable door. Van Ostade's early work consisted of low class subjects, such as this: rough taverns and peasants with grotesque faces, strongly influenced by the style of Adriaen Brouwer, a fellow pupil in the studio of Frans Hals. As his career progressed, however, his figures and settings became calmer, and the caricatural faces of the 1630s began to disappear. He was a prolific and successful painter in his day and his own exceptional pupils included his brother Isaak, Jan Steen, Cornelis Dusart and Cornelis Bega.