Merrymakers in an Inn

Over the course of a long and successful career in Haarlem, Adriaen van Ostade specialized in scenes of peasant life, including tavern scenes and village fairs. This late painting combines elements from both types, like smoking and drinking figures and musicians serenading a dancing couple. The artist used clear, relatively bright colors and fine brushwork, in keeping with the market demand of the later 1600s. Collectors also appreciated the range of emotions and gestures exhibited by Van Ostade’s jolly figures.