David Vinckboons

David Vinckboons Tavern scene "Boerenverdriet" or "the farmer's sorrow" Oil on wood. 21 x 31.2 cm. Provenance Belgian private collection. David Vinckboons repeatedly addressed the suffering of the Dutch rural population, who were tortured and killed by Spanish soldiers ("Boerenverdriet" or "Peasant Suffering"). The rebellious Netherlands had been at war with Spain since 1568, the Eighty Years' War. Vinckboons and his family were themselves victims of this war and fled from Spanish-occupied Antwerp to the northern Netherlands in 1585. As counterparts in terms of content, Vinckboons created depictions of peasants who decided to strike back and drive the soldiers and their entourage from their homes ("Boerenvreugd" or "Bauernfreud"). In the present composition, the painter also takes the side of the suffering population. A tavern is depicted in which a richly dressed society is being pampered with food and drink. It could be a family of the Spanish occupiers celebrating at the expense of the rural population. A poor man carrying a basket is expelled from the room under threat of violence. In the foreground, a begging woman kneels in front of a box filled with jewelry and money, pleading for alms. The present painting "Peasant Sorrow" is likely to have had a counterpart depicting "Peasant Joy", as is the case with an almost identical version from 1609 with similar dimensions. These two panels, which were on the art market in 2005, could be the earliest version of the subject (see Klaus Ertz: David Vinckboons, Lingen 2016, nos. 160 and 161). Another pair of paintings is in the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum (inv. nos. SK-A-1351 and -1352), but on the basis of a dendrological examination it can be dated to around 1619 or later and is possibly a workshop painting (see Klaus Ertz, opus. cit., nos. 162 and 163, here still dated around 1609 and with full attribution). David Vinckboon's composition is in the South Netherlandish tradition of small-figure depictions of plundered villages, which reflect the contemporary conflict between soldiers and peasants. Unlike Marten van Cleve before him, he considerably reduced the number of figures and placed them closer to the picture plane, thus involving the viewer more closely in the action. It is possible that Vinckboons, who had connections to the literary world of Amsterdam, was inspired by the contemporary literature on the Twelve Years' Truce (1609 to 1621). This dealt extensively with the problematic relationship between peasant and soldier.