Adriaen Brouwer
1605/06–1638 · 1 work
Adriaen Brouwer found subjects in taverns, everyday encounters, and the expressive behavior of ordinary people. Working in the Netherlands and Flanders, he made small pictures in which a face or sudden gesture can carry the action. His tavern scenes offered their original viewers both entertainment and reasons to judge what they saw. Yet their appeal also depended on close observation and lively handling of paint. The drawing Foot Soldiers offers another view of that interest in human behavior, concentrating attention on figures rather than a grand historical event.