Adriaen Jansz. van Ostade Haarlem 1610 - 1685

H.C. du Bois, The Hague;
His sale, Amsterdam, Fr. Muller, 27-28 November 1906, lot 147 for 3,800 guilders to Adolf Wollenberg, Regierungsbaumeister, Berlin;
His sale, Berlin, Lepke, 17 March 1932, lot 200, for DM 2,200;
With D. Katz, Dieren, 1934-8;
R. Dooyes, 's-Graveland;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 9 December 1959, lot 129, for £1,200 to Dr Singer;
With P. de Boer, Amsterdam;
By whom sold to a Swedish private collector, 1960;
A. Thustrup, Djursholm, by whom sold, London, Sotheby's, 26 April 2001, lot 47, for £168,500, when acquired by the present owner.

Amsterdam, Fred Muller & Co., L'Exposition de Maîtres Hollandais du XVIIe Siècle en l'Honneur du Tercentenaire de Rembrandt, 10 July - 15 September 1906, no. 98;
Berlin, Cassirer, Werke Alte Kunst aus Berliner Privatbesitz, May - June 1915, no. 93;
Berlin, Akademie, Kaiser-Friedrich-Museums-Verein, Gemälde Alter Meister aus Berliner Besitz, July - August 1925, no. 291;
Haarlem, Frans Hals Museum, Tentoonstelling van schilderijen van Oud-Hollandsche meesters uit de collectie Katz te Dieren, 17 November - 15 December 1934, no. 39;
Arnhem, Gemeentemuseum,Tentoonstelling van 17^e eeuwsche Nederlandsche Meesters uit particuliere Nederlandsche verzamelingen en uit de collectie van de Firma D. Katz te Dieren, 31 March - 22 April 1934, no. 31;
The Hague, Kunstzaal Kleykamp, Tentoonstelling van schilderijen door Oud-Hollandsche en Vlaamsche meesters uit de collectie Katz te Dieren, 1934, no. 24, p. 12;
Nijmegen, Huize 'Belvoir', Tentoonstelling van 16^e en 17^e eeuwsche Hollandsche, Vlaamsche en Italiaansche schilderijen en antiquiteiten uit de collectie der Fa D. Katz uit Dieren, 15 July - 1 September 1936, no. 45;
Eindhoven, Stedelijk van Abbe-museum, Tentoonstelling van 16^e en 17^e eeuwsche Hollandsche, Vlaamsche en Italiaansche schilderijen uit de collectie Fa D. Katz te Dieren, 22 December 1936 - 31 Janaury 1937, no 54;
Dieren, Firma D. Katz, Tentoonstelling van belangrijke 16^e en 17^e eeuwsche Hollandsche schilderijen, 3 July - 15 September 1937, no. 63;
Amsterdam, Arti et Amicitiae, Tentoonstelling van 16de en 17de eeuwsche Hollandsche en Vlaamsche schilderijen, 7 May - 4 June 1938, 56;
Dieren, Firma D. Katz, Tentoonstelling van belangrijke 16e en 17e eeuwsche Hollandsche en Vlaamsche schilderijen, 2 July - 15 September 1938, no. 67;
Stockholm, National Museum, Dutch Masters in Swedish Collections, 1967, no. 120, reproduced.

C. Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonné..., vol. III, London 1910, p. 245, no. 346.

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The painting is on a flat oak panel in a good condition. There is a small unstable 1cm vertical hairline split at the top in the centre. The paint surface is smooth and secure. There are some minor abrasions to the paint surface in the background behind the seated figure on the left and his wicker chair and hair, to the seated figure's blue jacket and hat and to the space behind the tankard; these areas have all been strengthened. Small retouchings can also be seen in the background and to the wooden screen. The varnish is moderately discoloured."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Dating from circa 1650-55 this engaging Tavern interior encapsulates all the charm associated with Ostade's maturity. Where his early works are often brash and satirical, depicting boisterous or brawling peasants (as exemplified by lots 163 and 166 in this sale), this work merely portrays the gentle pleasures of peasant life. The triangular composition is as uncomplicated as the subject matter and with such scenes Ostade had become the leading painter of genre subjects in Haarlem by the time of its execution.

This painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the works of the artist being compiled by Dr Hiltraud Doll.