ADRIAEN VAN OSTADE (attr. a) Lot n° 56

(Haarlem, 1610 - 1685) Brawl in a tavern Oil on panel, 33X27 cm The work shows stylistic similarities with works from around the end of the fourth decade of the 17th century, a date suggested by the sketchy and rapid character with which the scene and the protagonists are conceived. The older brother of Isaack van Ostade, Adriaen was one of the leading figures in Dutch art of his time, particularly famous as a portraitist and landscape painter, but his best known and most appreciated works are those depicting tavern interiors. In this painting, too, the light has an impact on the description of the scene, emphasising the gestures and expressions, in accordance with a practice that the painter extrapolated from an enormous quantity of drawings and sketches, which document his inexhaustible work from life.