Artwork
Scene in a Tavern
Scene in a Tavern is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist David Teniers the Younger. It dates from 1640 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a man and a woman gathered around a table, accompanied by a chair and the still-life elements of a cup and a pitcher.
Scene in a Tavern is a small Flemish genre painting by David Teniers the Younger depicting an everyday tavern interior. The composition centers on a man and a woman gathered around a table, accompanied by a chair and the still-life elements of a cup and a pitcher. A feather appears among the depicted objects, a motif often associated with tavern and gaming scenes of the period.
As a genre scene, the work belongs to a tradition of representing ordinary social life in low-life settings, where the interaction between drinkers, the humble furnishings, and the play of light on everyday objects carry moralizing undertones about leisure, sociability, and indulgence. The modest scale and intimate subject matter invite close looking at the small props that animate the narrative.
The painting's meaning lies in its celebration of vernacular Flemish life, transforming a fleeting moment of tavern conviviality into a carefully observed study of human behavior and material culture.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1640, this work is an oil painting applied to a wooden panel. The composition measures 21 cm in height and 17 cm in width, reflecting the small-scale format characteristic of Flemish genre scenes from this period. Visually, the piece depicts an interior tavern setting populated by male and female figures seated around a table.
The artist rendered specific domestic details, including chairs, drinking cups, a pitcher, and a feather, to establish the narrative context of the scene.
History & Provenance
The painting is dated to 1640 and was created in Flanders as an oil-on-panel work. It belongs to the genre of tavern scenes, depicting figures gathered around a table, and measures 21 centimetres in height by 17 centimetres in width. Its provenance indicates that it entered the collection of Catherine II of Russia before becoming part of the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, where it remains today, inventoried as ГЭ-535.
No documentary evidence of a specific commission has been identified, and the available sources do not provide a detailed exhibition history.
Overview
David Teniers the Younger created Scene in a Tavern in 1640, an oil painting that exemplifies the genre scenes popular in 17th-century Dutch and Flemish art. This work captures an intimate moment between two figures within a dimly lit interior. The painting is currently part of the collection at the State Hermitage Museum, where it offers insight into everyday life as depicted by the artist.
Artist & collection
Artist
David Teniers the Younger or David Teniers II was a Flemish Baroque painter, printmaker, and artist.
