Getty Museum
A Merry Company
Creator
Jacob JordaensFlemish Artist · 1593–1678
All works by this person →From the time of Peter Paul Rubens's death in 1640 until 1660, Jacob Jordaens was in greater demand than any other artist in northern Europe. He remained Antwerp's leading figure painter until his death. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Jordaens never went to Italy; he was born and lived his whole life in Antwerp, where he and his friend Rubens shared the same teacher. In the 1620s Jordaens buil
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- about 1644
- Medium
- Watercolor over charcoal, heightened with white opaque watercolor
- Culture
- Flemish
- Department
- Drawings
- Institution
- Getty Museum
While enjoying the pleasant weather outside a tavern, this rowdy group of merrymakers finds added delight in wine, song, and women. Seated at the center of the table, a woman clutching her glass shrinks from the brazen advances of a drunken man. On the left, a man throws his arms in the air, abandoning himself to song and capturing the attention of a dog whose paws rest in his lap. Other singing men surround the table, accompanied by a bagpipe player in the rear. On the far left, an intoxicated fellow has knocked over the crockery and is vomiting. Jacob Jordaens heavily worked this drawing with gouache and watercolor to create a rich finish that reflects the earthy humor of the subject. Using broken, angular lines and a delicate balance of light and shadow, Jordaens imbued his figures with movement and depth. Jordaens's raucous scene may have served to illustrate a popular proverb of the 1600s: "Ill gained, ill spent." Like many Dutch artists of his time, Jordaens depicted moral sayings in many of his drawings and in a set of tapestry designs that was purchased by the governor of the Spanish Netherlands in 1647.
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