David Teniers the Younger

Private collection, France;

Anonymous sale, Phillips, London, 10 April 1990, lot 81;

With Salomon Lilian, Amsterdam;

Private collection, The Netherlands;

Anonymous sale, Sotheby's, London, 4 July 2013, lot 141;

Where acquired in after-sale.

This small painting draws us into the daily life of a simple peasant preparing his smoking paraphernalia. Sitting on a stool in a tavern, he rests his elbows on a table on which smoke rises from a brazier. Behind him, another man seen from the back is sitting on a barrel, warming himself in front of the fireplace. The intimate simplicity of the scene is reinforced by the panel’s small size.

Although he had been appointed court painter in Brussels and advisor to Archduke Leopold-Wilhelm of Austria for the establishment of his collection, Teniers remained particularly keen on these genre scenes depicting the ordinary life of peasants and their simple activities, following in the footsteps of the Antwerp artist Adriaen Brouwer. Recurrent themes included drinkers in an interior, musicians or card players around a table, figures dancing outside a tavern, and smokers.

The Musée du Louvre has a fine example depicting a Smoker resting his elbows on a table (oil on canvas, 39 x 31 cm, inv. 1888).