Scene at the farm - Attributed to Balthazar Beschey (1708-1776)

This Farmyard subject is a free interpretation of Pieter Breughel the Younger's St. Michael's Inn. Just a stone's throw from the steward's house, this delightful painting gives us a snapshot of farm life on a summer day. Inviting us into this country scene, a man with his back to the center holds his horse in one hand and a pitchfork in the other. He exchanges a few words with a washerwoman, a woman bent over in effort, draws fresh water. A cowherd leads his cattle to the river. Pigs furrow the ground. Barrels await the grape harvest.
Happiness is in the meadow!
Fine brushstrokes, a vivid color palette and a detailed rendering of every detail characterize this 17th-century landscape from the Southern Netherlands, while in the Northern Netherlands the genre evolved into a spherical and suggestive approach.
The spirit of Erasmus permeates this vision where daily work is glorified.
Louis XIV, in his time, chose this subject painted by J Breughel the younger.
It is now part of the collections of the Louvre Museum.