Animated scenes of carousing in village inns and brothels were enjoyed as amusing evidence of the instincts of peasants. The motifs, including a drunk balancing unsteadily on his head, suggest that the scene is to be read in a moralizing way: excess leads to foolishness. It is intriguing then that Joachim Beukelaer (Flemish, c.1533 - 1574) inserted his signature and the date October 26, 1562, among the chalk marks on the mantelpiece, tallies of drinks consumed. Beuckelaer was one of the great contributors to this new interest in rural life.
[Oil on panel, 26.6 x 35.5 cm]
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