A51: Interior of an Alehouse
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© The Holburne Museum of Art, Bath
| Museum number | A51 |
| Title | Interior of an Alehouse |
| Additional titles | Boors regaling
Tavern Scene |
| Object type | In category: Pictures » Painting |
| Date | Between 1630 and 1640 |
| People |
By Circle of Teniers, David, II (Flemish painter, 1610-1690) - Painter(s) Previously attributed to Brouwer, Adriaen (Flemish painter, born 1605 or 1606, died 1638) - Painter(s) |
| Place of origin | Europe » Northern Europe » Low countries » Netherlands » Spanish Netherlands |
| Condition |
Good |
| Dimensions |
38.4 cm height frame 49.83 cm width frame 36.8 cm height sight 47.0 cm width sight |
| Materials & techniques |
In categories: Pictures: Medium » Paint » Oil paint Pictures: Support » Canvas |
| Description |
A group of people singing in an interior. On the right, middle ground, a table, covered in a white cloth on which is a cheese on a pewter plate and a knife. Seated on low benches around the table, clockwise from left: an old man profile in red coat, blue breeches and fur-trimmed cap with a white feather, lighting a pipe, a dagger hanging from his belt; an old woman with a white cap leaning forward with mouth open; a bearded man in a dark coat over a greyish doublet, holding in his left hand a large earthenware tankard, also with mouth open; a young man in white shirt and yellow breeches, supporting the tankard with his right hand and holding a jug in his left; a boy's head seen between the last two men. In the left foreground, a still life of kitchen utensils of wood, copper and earthenware, vegetables and fish. In the background on the left, A figure in a blue shirt, reaches up for a dish. Wall interior partly stone, the rest brown woodwork. In a carved and gilded frame (not original to painting). |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Subject |
Interior Genre |
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| Notes | This tavern scene, traditionally identified as the work of the Flemish Adriaen Brouwer, has recently been re-attributed to the School of Teniers the Younger. Work by Teniers (also Flemish) and his school was much admired, collected and imitated throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Holburne gave it the title 'Boors Regaling' and kept it in his study with his favourite cabinet paintings. Previous attributions: Catalogue (1867): 77 Adrian Brower Chaffers (1887): 1396 Adrian Brower Moeckler (1902): 203 Adrian Brower Buttery (1906): 'Dutch school-very good picture' Blaker (pre 1913): 51 Dutch school A. Register (1919): 51 Adrian Brower Catalogue (1927): 84 Adrian Brower Catalogue (1936): 76 Adrian Brower |
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| Literature |
The Holburne of Menstrie Museum Catalogue: Part I: Pictures, Bath, 1936, no. 76, ill. pl. 7b Wright, Christopher, Old Master Paintings in Britain: An Index of Continental Old Master Paintings executed before c.1800 in Public Collections in the United Kingdom, London, 1976. |
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| Muse theme | The Art of Collecting |
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| Muse chapter |
The History of the Holburne Collection » Sir William Holburne and his Collection » Establishing taste: Sir William' s Grand Tour, 1824-5
The History of the Holburne Collection » Sir William Holburne and his Collection » Arranging the Collection: Sir William at Home Oil paintings in the Holburne Museum |
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| Gallery Labels |
An interior of an alehouse with a group of carousing peasants around a table, on which sits a large Dutch cheese. This kind of subject matter is called a genre scene, an image of everyday life, often domestic, painted with naturalistic detail. Genre painting was extremely popular in 17th century Holland, and embraced low-life scenes of rowdy taverns, such as this, and also images of the well-kept kitchens, bedrooms and hallways of the Dutch upper and middle classes. Brouwer was born in Flanders and had a brief career in Antwerp of about 15 years, until his early death. He was one of the most innovative genre painters in the early 17th century, specializing in unsentimental representations of his subjects, course facial expressions and strong emotions. His paintings were highly regarded by contemporaries, including Rembrandt who apparently owned six of his paintings and Rubens who owned seventeen. This painting hung in Sir William Holburne's study. School of David Teniers (1582-1649) Interior of an Alehouse, 1630s Oil on panel Collection of Sir William Holburne The development of Dutch low-life scenes owed much to the influence of Flemish artists such as David Teniers and Adriaen Brouwer. This Flemish tavern scene is typical of their production, combining a scene of open-mouthed and pipe-smoking revellers with delicately and freely painted still-life details.Previously attributed to Adriaen Brouwer, this fine painting appears more closely associated with David Teniers. The still life motif on the left, with the large copper pot on its side, appears frequently in other paintings by Teniers. A51 (Wright, Amina) 17-2-2006 |
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| Method of acquisition | Bequest | ||||||
| Provenance | Sir T. W. Holburne (1793-1874); by whom bequeathed to Mary Anne Barbara Holburne (1802-1882); by whom bequeathed to the Museum |
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| Exhibition history |
Title of exhibition: National Exhibition of Works of Art Title of exhibition: The Beauties of Bath: The Holburne Museum revealed |
