Peasants conversing

Two peasants stop to chat on an open piece of land, at home in their rural surroundings encircled by a stream in the foreground and the rooftops of houses and a church peeping through the trees beyond. The Flemish artist David Teniers (1610-90) used stock poses for many of his figures, even repeating extra details such as an attentive dog or a flock of sheep, to add to the narrative. He also introduced elements of humour, such as the figure here who has turned his back to urinate while his companions, oblivious, are absorbed in their conversation.  

Teniers was one of the most prolific genre painters of the seventeenth century. Renowned for his depictions of peasant life, he extended his repertoire to depict country estates and castles later in his career. Highly successful in his own lifetime, his works later proved popular on the British art market. The tastes of Dulwich Picture Gallery founders, Noel Desenfans (1705-1807) and Francis Bourgeois (1756-1811), reflected this popularity, and Teniers is represented in the Collection by 22 paintings. This work has been enlarged on the top, right and lower edges to more closely match the dimensions of another work by Teniers in the collection, A Castle and its Proprietors. The two paintings once hung together in Bourgeois’ London home, and it is possible that Bourgeois made the additions himself. Viewed as a pair, the similarities in the compositional elements reveal Teniers’ formulaic working practice, using a cloud-filled, silvery sky balanced with the earthy tones of a broad landscape populated with a cast of characters.