European

Joost Cornelisz. Droochsloot

Netherlands after 1585-1666
Village Fete 25.0080

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Netherlandish painters favored a variety of social scenes. Interior "low-life" scenes, barracks scenes, tavern scenes, kitchen scenes, musical parties, brothel scenes, and village fêtes (parties), were all popular subjects for Dutch and Flemish artists. Droochsloot (Drohkslote) had the monopoly, in Utrecht, on Flemish-style village scenes, so named because of their similarity to paintings Pieter Bruegel had popularized a century earlier. These scenes depicted feast days, weddings, and other public celebrations wherein plain and sturdy peasants, and children engaged in merry-making and often disreputable behavior. Bruegel's settings, however, combined naturalism with a strong, biting irony and a didactic message, qualities not to be found in Droochsloot's Village Fête. Throughout his career, Joost Droochsloot's principal theme was the representation of the poor, often as recipients of charity, a subject that secured him commissions from the numerous hospices in his hometown of Utrecht. Elected dean of the painting guild there in 1623, Droochsloot worked for several public institutions, including the local militia, and ran a successful studio/workshop until the 1650's, when his style of painting became less popular and was eclipsed by the more elegant and smoother work of Italian-trained artists.

 

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