Jan Miense Molenaer Haarlem circa 1610 - 1668

We are grateful to Dr. Dennis Weller for confirming the attribution to Molenaer, on the basis of photographs.

Until recently this painting had the two skeletons in the background, one holding an arrow and the other an hourglass, painted over, altering the subject of the painting from a vanitas to that of a straight forward merry company.  This was done in the 19^th or 20^th century, no doubt to make the painting more palatable to the tastes of that era.  Vanitas subjects, with their reminder of the brevity of life, were common in 17^th century Holland.  Here Molenaer portrays youths dancing and making music, with an elderly couple and a child, thus incorporating another popular Dutch theme, that of the Three Ages of Man.  With the two skeletons lurking in the background, the message is clear- that death can strike anyone at anytime.  Another version of this composition by Molenaer, dated 1631, was with David Koetser Gallery, Zurich.  That painting also had the skeletons painted over at a later date.