Peasants and musicians outside a tavern

Isaac was first apprenticed to his elder brother, Adriaen, and his early works are heavily influenced by and in certain cases indistinguishable from, those of his brother. He most likely also studied with Salomon van Ruysdael, as suggested by a document of 1640 that records a lawsuit brought by Salomon against Adriaen for sums due for board and tuition. Stylistic similarities, among them the use of yellow and pink in the sky, also link the works of Isaac and Salomon. Ostade's career lasted only a decade. His first dated painting is from 1639, he became a master in the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke in 1643, and he passed away in 1649. Within that short period of time, his output was prodigious.

This composition is an excellent example of Isaac van Ostade's oeuvre. The characteristic rendering of the windows readily compares with the Bocce Players from 1642 (see: B. Schnackenburg, Adriaen van Ostade, Isaac van Ostade, Hamburg 1981, fig. 56). Dr. Schnackenburg points out the close relationship between the present work and the Reception of the Bride from 1639 in the Hallwyl Museum, Stockholm (inv. no. XXXII:B.93).

We are grateful to Dr. Bernhard Schnackenburg, Kassel, for confirming the attribution to Isaac van Ostade. Dr. Schnackenburg dates the painting around 1640 (written communication, 20 January 2011).