Artwork
Old Peasant Holding a Jug
Old Peasant Holding a Jug is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Frans van Mieris the Younger. It dates from 1731 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The jug and ham are rendered with careful realism, underscoring the sitter’s humble social station and the modest pleasures of his milieu.
The painting depicts an older man wearing rustic attire who holds a Westerwald stoneware wine pitcher and a slice of ham. His direct gaze and the modest props suggest a genre scene focused on everyday life rather than an idealized portrait. The jug and ham are rendered with careful realism, underscoring the sitter’s humble social station and the modest pleasures of his milieu.
The composition avoids overt allegory, instead presenting a straightforward depiction meant to evoke the character and dignity of a peasant figure in early eighteenth-century Dutch or Flemish tradition.
Technique & Style
Created in 1731 by Frans van Mieris the Younger, this work is an oil painting executed on a wooden panel. The composition measures 17 cm in height and 13.5 cm in width. Stylistically classified as a tronie, the piece focuses on the characterization of a male figure rather than a formal portrait.
The subject is depicted holding a Westerwald stoneware wine pitcher, with a ham also present in the scene. The artist's handling of the medium captures the specific textures of the stoneware and the figure's features within a small-scale format typical of Dutch genre scenes from the Netherlands.
History & Provenance
Old Peasant Holding a Jug is an oil painting on panel created in 1731 by Frans van Mieris the Younger. It entered the collection of Heinrich von Brühl before being acquired by the Hermitage Museum, where it remains on display. The work measures 17 cm in height and 13.5 cm in width and is classified as a portrait tronie depicting a man with a Westerwald stoneware wine pitcher and ham.
Its creation history is documented through its inception date of 1731-01-01 and its provenance from Dutch origins to Brühl's ownership before museum acquisition.
Old Peasant Holding a Jug is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum, where it remains part of the institution's holdings. The painting was formerly owned by Heinrich von Brühl, the Saxon statesman and collector, prior to its accession by the museum. No specific inventory or accession number, nor any detailed exhibition history, is recorded in the available sources.
Overview
Created in 1731 by Leiden‑born Dutch painter Frans van Mieris the Younger, this oil on canvas measures a modest size and now belongs to the collection of the State Hermitage Museum. Executed in a light Rococo manner, the work presents a solitary, elderly figure seated at a table, his gaze directed outward, set against a muted, dark backdrop that emphasizes the warm tones of his attire and the objects before him.
Artist & collection
Artist
Frans van Mieris the Younger (24 November 1689 – 22 October 1763) was a Dutch painter.
