David Teniers (Antwerp 1610 - Brussels 1690), was a
Flemish baroque painter who worked at the Brussels court. He is known as David
Teniers the Younger, to distinguish him from his father and his son both called
David and both painters.
He was married to Anna Brueghel, a daughter of Jan
Brueghel sr. One of the wedding witnesses was Rubens.
He painted landscapes, portraits,
genre paintings and still lifes. Like his more or less contemporaries
the Brueghel dynasty and Avercamp, he specialized in one type of painting, which he, with minor variations, painted repeatedly over the years. That painting is a village fair in front of an inn on the countryside with a bagpipe player standing on a barrel providing the music.
the Brueghel dynasty and Avercamp, he specialized in one type of painting, which he, with minor variations, painted repeatedly over the years. That painting is a village fair in front of an inn on the countryside with a bagpipe player standing on a barrel providing the music.
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| Flemish Village Fair ("Vlaamse Kermis") (1652). Brussels, Royal Museum of Fine Arts. |
Of course I didn't know this
when I first saw one of Teniers' Village Fairs with bagpipe player in
the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels, Belgium in November 2009. I only found out later.
I remember spending some time admiring the painting. I'm a sucker for musical instruments on
paintings.
the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels, Belgium in November 2009. I only found out later.
I remember spending some time admiring the painting. I'm a sucker for musical instruments on
paintings.
In December 2016 I visited the
Pushkin Museum in Moscow to see the Raphael exhibition.
Whenever I visit a museum I also always check out the galleries with Netherlands' 17th c. genre
paintings, hoping for some Rembrandt or Jan Steen, and I wasn't disappointed.
But there was also a Teniers, a Village Fair with bagpipe player. I liked that one enough to make a
photo of it. Back home, I checked it against Teniers' Brussels painting, and indeed, they were
thematically quite alike. I didn't think much else of it then yet.
Whenever I visit a museum I also always check out the galleries with Netherlands' 17th c. genre
paintings, hoping for some Rembrandt or Jan Steen, and I wasn't disappointed.
But there was also a Teniers, a Village Fair with bagpipe player. I liked that one enough to make a
photo of it. Back home, I checked it against Teniers' Brussels painting, and indeed, they were
thematically quite alike. I didn't think much else of it then yet.
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| Village Fair ("Kermessa") (1650). Moscow, Pushkin Museum. |
That changed when I visited
the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam in September 2018. In the niches
with masterpieces surrounding the Nachtwacht (The "Night Watch") was another, slightly
different version, of Teniers' Village Fair with bagpipe player exhibited. Yay. I was excited.
I had an Aha Erlebnis.
with masterpieces surrounding the Nachtwacht (The "Night Watch") was another, slightly
different version, of Teniers' Village Fair with bagpipe player exhibited. Yay. I was excited.
I had an Aha Erlebnis.
 |
Peasant Kermis (Boerenkermis") (1665). Amsterdam,
Rijksmuseum.
|
In October 2018 I was on
holiday in France. Elma and I visited the Musée des Beaux Arts in Reims.
Their collection of Netherlands' genre paintings wasn't really impressive, but there was a real nice collection of late 19th c. Oriental scenes by French painters. And hidden in a corner, positioned there almost as an afterthought, was a Village Fair with bagpipe player by Teniers. It was as if the sky opened and a ray of sunlight lit up the painting. I had an epiphany. I couldn't see anything else but the painting.
I must have stood there for 15 minutes or more, watching from various angles near and far, left and
right. The room guard eyed me suspiciously. No matter, I was hooked.
Their collection of Netherlands' genre paintings wasn't really impressive, but there was a real nice collection of late 19th c. Oriental scenes by French painters. And hidden in a corner, positioned there almost as an afterthought, was a Village Fair with bagpipe player by Teniers. It was as if the sky opened and a ray of sunlight lit up the painting. I had an epiphany. I couldn't see anything else but the painting.
I must have stood there for 15 minutes or more, watching from various angles near and far, left and
right. The room guard eyed me suspiciously. No matter, I was hooked.
 |
Parish Fair ("Fete de Village") (n.d.). Reims, Musée
des Beaux Arts.
|
In October the Venduehuis
der Notarissen ("Auction Room of the Notaries") in The Hague,
Netherlands, sent me a link to its November autumn auction: European Fine Art. Sometimes,
like I did this time, I check out the catalogue for no apparent reason. Lot no. 5 was a painting
"Follower of David Teniers (17th Century) Feasting Peasants". It was estimated at €1000 - €1500.
Netherlands, sent me a link to its November autumn auction: European Fine Art. Sometimes,
like I did this time, I check out the catalogue for no apparent reason. Lot no. 5 was a painting
"Follower of David Teniers (17th Century) Feasting Peasants". It was estimated at €1000 - €1500.
Was this a sign or mere
coincidence. Was a power from above telling me to bid on it? Eventually I
decided not to, mainly because I wasn't convinced it was a real Teniers. The inn was too small, the
crowd too thin, the painting too coarse, the bagpipe player didn't stand on an a barrel, and the
bagpipe sounded offkey.
It eventually was sold for €1000.
decided not to, mainly because I wasn't convinced it was a real Teniers. The inn was too small, the
crowd too thin, the painting too coarse, the bagpipe player didn't stand on an a barrel, and the
bagpipe sounded offkey.
It eventually was sold for €1000.
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| Feasting Peasants (17th. c). The Hague, Autumn Auction of the Notaries. |
I am curious when I'll run
into my next Village Fair.
addendum 20211203.
I came across my next Village Fair by David Teniers on 20210910 in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, Kassel, Germany and it was titled Bauerntanz vor dem Wirtshaus (Peasants Dancing outside an Inn).
This "Village Fair" is considerably larger than the other ones. The scene with inn, dancers, and bagpipe player on a barrel is augmented to the right with a country scene and to above with clouds. It kind makes me suspicious that the other Village Fairs originally may have been larger as well, but for some reason were cropped.
Later that day Elma and I had a nice meeting at lunch in the museum restaurant with art collectors Eyk van Otterloo and his wife Rose-Marie, who had specially come to the Gemäldegalerie to view Rembrandt's Saskia, after having attended the opening of the Vermeer exhibition in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden the day before.
