Adriaen Brouwer, 'Tavern Scene', about 1635
About the work
Overview
We are in a dingy tavern with a small gathering of drinkers and smokers squatting on low wooden stools and chairs. The focus of their attention – and ours – is the tussle going on between a man and a young woman on the left-hand side of the painting.
The depiction is unusually lewd. The man, his trousers open at the front, is wedging the woman’s legs apart with his knee and forcing his hand up her skirts. She fights back, trying to push his hand away and pulling at his hair with a determined grip. The sharp cry of pain which distorts his face has attracted the attention of his fellow drinkers. Whether we are witnessing a prostitute fighting off a drunken client, a sexual assault on a barmaid or simply watching a lovers’ tiff isn’t made explicit.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Tavern Scene
- Artist
- Adriaen Brouwer
- Artist dates
- 1606? - 1638
- Date made
- about 1635
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 48 × 67 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bought with the support of a number of gifts in wills, 2002
- Inventory number
- NG6591
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Frame
- 20th-century Replica Frame
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the National Gallery’s Annual Report, ‘The National Gallery Review: April 2001 – March 2002’.
Exhibition history
-
2017The Art of Laughter - Humour in the Golden AgeFrans Hals Museum11 November 2017 - 18 March 2018
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2018Adriaen Brouwer: Master of EmotionsMuseum of Oudenaarde15 September 2018 - 16 December 2018
Bibliography
-
1841H. Artaria, A Description of the Collection of Edmund Higginson, Esq. of Saltmarshe Castle, London 1841
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1924W. Bode, Adriaen Brouwer: Sein Leben und seine Werke, Berlin 1924
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1962G. Knuttel, Adriaen Brouwer: The Master and His Work, The Hague 1962
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1986K. Renger, Adriaen Brouwer und das Niederländische Bauerngenre 1600-1660 (exh. cat. Alte Pinakothek, 25 April - 29 June 1986), Munich 1986
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1987K. Renger, 'Adriaen Brouwer: Seine Auseinandersetzung mit der Tradition des 16. Jahrhunderts', in H. Bock and T.W. Gaehtgens (eds), Holländische Genremalerei im 17. Jahrhundert, Berlin 1987, pp. 253-82
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1993P. Sutton et al., The Age of Rubens (exh. cat. Museum of Fine Arts, 22 September 1993 - 2 January 1994), Boston 1993
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1996K. Renger, 'Adriaen Brouwer', in J. Turner (ed.), The Dictionary of Art, London 1996, vol. 4, pp. 870-3
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2002National Gallery, The National Gallery Review: April 2001 - March 2002, London 2002
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
Images
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