Landscape with a large number of peasants merrymaking in front of a cottage (Alternative Title: Merry Company Before an Inn)

Philips Wouwerman 1619 - 1668

Summary

A large dead tree is the focal point of this wide, diagonal composition, drawing our attention to the group of cheerful peasants gathered at its base. The scene is alive with activity and humour as figures laugh and dance to the music of a lyre, flute, fiddle and bagpipes. The brightly clothed figures make them stand out in an otherwise dark, muddy scene. These, and the close grouping of these figures, were inspired by the Italian peasant street scenes, landscapes and prints of Pieter van Laer (1599- after 1642). The very low viewpoint, accentuated by the abrupt colour shift from brown to blue, white and grey, prevents serious interest in the background. This was a departure from the norm in Dutch painting; however, Wouwerman returned to conventional detailed backgrounds in later paintings, such as Merry and Rowdy Peasants at an Inn, 1653 (Minneapolis Institute of Arts, acc. no. 81.107). Wouwerman is credited with being the most accomplished and successful painter of horses of his day, but his versatility is evident in his landscapes and genre scenes. By about 1649 he had developed a growing interest in landscape painting and his paintings in successive years demonstrate his mastery of the subject.

Display Label

Peasants outside an Inn 1646 Philips Wouwerman 1619-68 Oil on canvas Wouwerman used a large dead tree as the focal point of his composition to draw attention to the cheerful peasants gathered at its base. The scene is alive with activity and humour as figures laugh and dance along to the musical sounds of a lyre, flute, fiddle and bagpipes. Wouwerman clothed the figures in bright garments to individualise them in an otherwise dark, muddy scene. The yellow, pink, and blue of their clothes, and the close grouping of these figures, were inspired by the Italianate peasant scenes of Pieter van Laer. He worked in Rome but returned to Haarlem in 1638. Assheton Bennett bequest 1979.516