Artwork
Laughing Farmer
Laughing Farmer is a paint painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Adriaen Brouwer. It dates from 1636 and is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.
About this work
Overview
Laughing Farmer is a 1636 painting by Adriaen Brouwer, a Flemish artist of the Dutch Golden Age. The work portrays a single figure, a smiling man, in a characteristic display of Brouwer's focus on expressive, everyday subjects.
Subject & Meaning
The painting centers on a jovial farmer, distinguished by his broad, toothy grin. This emphasis on capturing a specific emotional state aligns with Brouwer's exploration of tronies, a genre emphasizing varied facial expressions, often of common people.
Technique & Style
Executed in a highly realistic style, the painting features a life-like depiction of the subject set against a dark, nondescript background, drawing the viewer's attention to the farmer's expressive face and inviting a sense of immediacy.
History & Provenance
Created in 1636, Laughing Farmer is now part of the collection at the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, reflecting the artist's influence within the broader European art historical context of the 17th century.
Context
Within Brouwer's oeuvre, Laughing Farmer sits alongside other genre scenes of tavern and rural life, contributing to the artist's reputation for innovatively portraying the lives and emotions of lower-class individuals during the Dutch Golden Age.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Adriaen Brouwer (c. 1605 – January 1638) was a Flemish painter active in Flanders and the Dutch Republic in the first half of the 17th century. Brouwer was an important innovator of genre painting through his vivid…
