28 - Flemish School, second half of the 17th century. A follower of DAVID TENIERS II (Antwerp, 1610 – Brussels, 1690).

Flemish School, second half of the 17th century. A follower of DAVID TENIERS II (Antwerp, 1610 – Brussels, 1690). “Peasant Dance in Front of a Tavern.” Oil on canvas. Measurements: 83 x 76 cm, 108 x 95 cm (frame). The composition is particularly reminiscent of the pictorial repertoire of David Teniers the Younger, one of the leading figures of Flemish genre painting, whose works were widely sought after by European collectors. Heir to the tradition of Pieter Bruegel the Elder and the genre painting of Adriaen Brouwer, Teniers produced numerous depictions of village festivals, dances, and tavern scenes, characterized by the integration of small everyday episodes into landscape compositions. This pictorial style, which enjoyed great popularity in the 17th and 18th centuries, was continued and reinterpreted by numerous painters of his circle and by later followers. Particularly significant is the compositional similarity of this painting to *Peasants Dancing Outside the Crescent Tavern*, held at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (inv. SK-A-3226), cataloged as a work in the manner of David Teniers II and dated to around 1660 or later. Both compositions share a similar arrangement of the groups of dancers, the presence of a tavern on the side with a sign, figures distributed on both sides of the scene, and a musician situated in an elevated position. The Rijksmuseum’s scholarly catalog, written by Gregory Martin in 2022, notes the existence of other related versions, as well as an engraving held at The Courtauld Institute. The existence of these variants has led to speculation about the possibility of a currently unknown prototype by Teniers.