(active Northern Netherlands mid–17th Century)
A village kermis with merry making peasants,
signed lower centre on the tree trunk: Ja van Leeuw…,
oil on panel, 59.5 x 84 cm, framed

We are grateful to Fred Meijer for the identification of the artist and his assistance in cataloguing this lot.

In Dutch and Flemish painting, kermis scenes were a favoured genre in painting. These typically show village festivities with figures drinking, often flirting and occasionally with a few better-dressed figures looking on. As the kermis was a festival dedicated to the patron saint of the parish, and attended by all, the majority of the crowd are hardworking peasants, enjoying themselves, but also the rich citizens attend in their expensive garments. Although there were just as many holidays and days off at that time as there are today – no one worked on Sundays and there were also thirty or forty holidays on which no one worked – free time was mostly taken up by religious duties. The special meaning of these festivals in everyday life explains the popularity of the genre since the mid-16th century.

In the foreground of the present painting there is a tavern abounding in jolly customers, kissing couples and two fortune-tellers reading palms while well-attended market stalls lead into the far distance. The centre of the village is marked by a steeple and a connected rectory, where on the chimney, above a dormer window, a storks nest is visible. The merry goings-on are underlined by a bright and colourful palette of a sunny day. This palette together with the striking treatment of the figures are typical features of van Leeuwen’s paintings. A comparable work by the artist, indistinctly signed and dated 1637, was sold at Christie’s Amsterdam in 2009 (see sale, Christie’s, Amsterdam, 6 May 2009, lot 8). Another work by Van Leeuwen was offered with Christie’s London (see sale, Christie’s, London, 22 April 1994, lot 108).