Adriaen Brouwer, 'Tavern Scene', about 1635

Adriaen Brouwer specialised in rowdy scenes of peasant life and this is one of the largest and rowdiest he made. We are in a dingy, sparsely furnished tavern with plaster falling off the walls. A small gathering of drinkers and smokers squat on low wooden stools and chairs. The focus of their attention – and ours – is the tussle going on between a man and a woman on the left-hand side of the painting. From the leers and smirks on the faces of the onlookers it is clearly causing a good deal of amusement.

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. From the expression on his face, she appears to be having some effect. The sharp cry of pain which distorts his features seems to be what has attracted the attention of his fellow drinkers. It isn’t made explicit whether we are witnessing a prostitute fighting off a drunken client or a sexual assault on a barmaid, or simply watching a lovers’ tiff. Most likely, in this environment, the woman would have been perceived as a prostitute. Alcohol was considered an aphrodisiac (as was tobacco) and the upset flagon on the step in front of the couple, its lid hanging open and ale spilling out, would almost certainly have been interpreted as an obscene reference to female sexuality.

Brouwer’s middle-class clients would have seen such a scene as both a source of amusement and a moral condemnation of drunken or licentious behaviour. Such a tension over whether to react with moral outrage or be entertained by promiscuous behaviour is apparent in many paintings made in Holland and Flanders during the seventeenth century. Brouwer worked in both countries and early biographies of him suggest that he was not unfamiliar with tavern life. Indeed, he painted a lighthearted group portrait of him and his fellow artists drinking and smoking together (The Smokers in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York).

Brouwer’s skill was not only his ability to capture the atmosphere of the tavern and suggest the interactions between figures so effectively, but also to depict the contrasting expressions on their faces. This is one of the best examples of his work, which was admired by many of his contemporary artists. Some of the greatest painters of the time collected his work, including Rembrandt and Rubens.