Two Peasants with a Glass of Wine
David Teniers the Younger·c. 1645
Historical Context
Teniers's Two Peasants with a Glass of Wine from around 1645 captures a moment of social exchange between peasant figures — the shared cup as a vehicle for depicting the sociability and simple pleasures of rural life. Teniers was at this period working in Antwerp at the height of his commercial success before his 1651 move to Brussels, producing genre scenes that found enthusiastic collectors among the Flemish bourgeoisie and the European aristocracy. The intimacy of the two-figure composition — the shared pleasure of a single glass — is rendered with the warm observation and non-judgmental tone that characterized his treatment of peasant subjects throughout his career.
Technical Analysis
Teniers's refined technique renders the two figures with characterful expressions and natural poses. The warm interior light is handled with luminous subtlety, while the details of clothing, glassware, and furnishings are painted with the careful precision that distinguished Teniers from rougher genre painters.
Provenance
Camil. II Gonzaga.[1] (J. Baer, New York).[2] (Gallery Sanct Lucas, Vienna); sold 1965 to Nell V. [Mrs. Robert M.] Weidenhammer, Rockville, Maryland; gift (partial and promised) 1992 to NGA; gift completed 2003. [1] This reference stems from a wax seal on the verso of the painting. [2] Information contained in a letter dated 5 July 1965 from B.J.A. Renckens, Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, to Dr. R. Herzig of Galerie Sanct Lucas (copy in NGA curatorial files).
