Man with a Tankard at a Window

One of the great chroniclers of gaiety and folly in the latter half of the 17th century, Adraien van Ostade established the Dutch taste for small-scale scenes of figures drinking and smoking at windows. This image of a man leaning jauntily against a window frame with a tankard in his hand demonstrates the amused character and casual pose the artist applied to many of his subjects. Picturesque details like the vines and leaded glass above the man’s head can be found in other small paintings by Van Ostade of women at windows, suggesting that he may have conceived of these cheerful works in pairs.