Merry munks at a table.

Merry Monks at a Table by Simony Jensen from 1902 belongs to the long European tradition of humorous or genre depictions of ecclesiastical figures in states of jovial relaxation — a tradition traceable from Flemish and Dutch seventeenth-century painting through nineteenth-century anecdote painting. Fat, merry monks drinking wine and eating at table were a stock subject that carried an implicit anti-clerical wit alongside genuine affection for the image of brotherly conviviality. Jensen, working as a Danish Post-Impressionist largely outside the major centers, painted this conventional subject with fresh color and a lightness of touch that updates the anecdote tradition with more modern handling.

Jensen renders the monks' robes and the cluttered table with warm, direct brushwork that suggests the tradition of Dutch and Flemish genre painting adapted to Post-Impressionist color. His compositional arrangement emphasizes the social dynamic of the group around the table.