In the courtyard of the tavern - workshop of David Teniers II (1610-1690)

Characters and knights in the courtyard of the tavern.
David Teniers, known as the Younger (Antwerp, 15 December 1610 – Brussels, 25 April 1690) workshop
Oil on canvas
II half of the 17th century
Canvas cm. 84 x 62 frame cm. 96 x 74
Excellent condition

This splendid oil painting on canvas is an excellent example of the most interesting and refined expression of Flemish painting.
In fact, in addition to the famous Still Lifes, the Belgian and Dutch masters stood out throughout Europe for an incredible production of genre scenes, set in tavern interiors or outdoors in villages or the countryside.
The protagonists of these paintings always took on a physical appearance with caricatural features, sometimes grotesque, with deliberately exaggerated expressions and attitudes.
The painting published here perfectly expresses the pictorial taste of one of the most famous authors of this type of works, namely the "Bambocciante" master of Antwerp David Teniers the Younger (Antwerp, 1610 – Brussels, 1690), son of Teniers the Elder and his pupil, and brother of three other valid artists.
In this case the Author abandons the more "unpleasant" representations with dark interiors frequented by drinkers, smokers and card players, alchemists and tooth pullers, to depict one of the most successful scenes of his repertoire.
The setting is outdoors in a beautiful countryside landscape, in the courtyard of an inn, and the splendid sunny day illuminates the building, the characters and the vegetation with particularly vivid colors, as is customary in the most typical compositions of Teniers.
Some knights allow themselves a refreshing break while a group of customers in a circle, discuss animatedly in front of the door.

Note the characteristic figures of the drunken drinker lying down to sleep off his hangover next to the well, the inevitable little dog and a character turned from behind who urinates on the wall, a typical license of the Flemish pictorial tradition, much appreciated by collectors.

It is a very pleasant and well-made painting, with a magnificent color scheme and in excellent condition that must undoubtedly be attributed to the workshop of the Belgian Master.

A beautiful carved and gilded frame completes it perfectly.

The size of the canvas is remarkable for a compositional typology that usually involves small-sized works, but which despite this, maintains an extraordinarily fine figurative quality in every detail.