Cottage with Peasants playing Cards

All the usual suspects can be found in this painting that imitates the style of the popular Flemish artist, David Teniers the Younger (1610–90). A cast of characters are contained in the lower right-hand corner of the small scene, gathered around a table, playing cards and gossiping. They are dressed in peasants’ smocks and shirts, and each sport a different hat, including Teniers’ signature red cap that lends a dash of colour to draw the eye into the action. Another recognisable character of Teniers’ trademark style is the old man seen leaning on a staff, his faithful dog at his side, who directs the viewer’s attention into the picture. Barely discernible in the field is a partially clothed figure, perhaps cutting the long grass in the glow of the sun. Another shadowy figure retreats through the door of the cottage or inn, underpinning the fleeting nature of the moment cemented here in paint.  

The subtle commentary that contrasts the lone – albeit now faint – figure toiling in the sun and the group casually enjoying a card game, would not have been lost on the contemporary viewer. Genre paintings of peasant life were hugely popular in seventeenth-century Flanders. Sometimes containing a moral message, the law-abiding middle classes enjoyed the voyeuristic nature of scenes that portrayed what they perceived to be the lax morals of the lower classes, partaking in perceived sins such as drinking, gambling and general indolence. Teniers enjoyed considerable success in mastering these subjects and was often imitated, including by his son, David Teniers III (1638–85).