Adriaen Brouwer

The Flemish painter Adriaen Brouwer (c. 1605-1638) exerted an immense influence on his contemporaries. His success as a painter of genre subjects ensured the popularity of scenes of peasant life in Dutch and Flemish painting of the 17th century.

Adriaen Brouwer was born at Oudenaarde in the southern Netherlands. There is no reliable account of his training as an artist. He lived in Holland, working in Haarlem and Amsterdam, from about 1625 until 1631. In Haarlem he undoubtedly knew and was influenced by Frans Hals. An early painting, typical of Brouwer's Dutch period, is the Pancake Man, which, with its lumpish, misshapen peasant types and strong local colors, recalls the 16th-century Flemish master Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

In 1631 Brouwer was in Antwerp, where he was listed as a master in the Guild of St. Luke (the painters' guild) and where he remained until his death, at only 32 years of age, in 1638. During these few years the artist produced some masterpieces. In works such as the Peasants Playing Cards the sharp local colors of the early period have been replaced by an all-embracing tonality and a more painterly handling, probably derived from Hals; and the observation of human foibles and passions has likewise become more acute and sympathetic. Despite their sometimes coarse subject matter, Brouwer's figure paintings are remarkable for their sensitive color and refinement of execution. Not to be overlooked among the works of the last Antwerp years are his landscape paintings, which have a surprising freshness and poetic quality.

The records plainly show that Brouwer was a man of unconventional behavior: he undoubtedly led a rather bohemian existence and was frequently in debt. Nevertheless, it should be emphasized that the traditional picture of the artist as a dissolute and irresponsible buffoon is largely an invention of early biographers, who seem to have believed that Brouwer's manner of life resembled that of the uncouth boors in some of his tavern scenes.

Both Peter Paul Rubens and Rembrandt paid Brouwer the compliment of acquiring paintings by his hand for their own collections. Brouwer's principal followers in the rendering of peasant subjects were the Dutch painter Adriaen van Ostade and the Flemish painter David Teniers the Younger.

Further Reading

The best books on Brouwer are by Dutch and German scholars. An early attempt to define the artist's output is C. Hofstede de Groot, Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters, vol. 3 (trans. 1911). The fundamental study, still not supplanted, is Wilhelm von Bode's monograph in German, Adriaen Brouwer, sein Leben und seine Werke (1924), which contains all the documents relating to the artist's life; Bode regarded Brouwer as "the most gifted Netherlandish master of the 17th century after Rembrandt and Rubens," and this assessment of the painter and his work has not been seriously modified by subsequent scholarly investigation. Gerard Knuttel, Adriaen Brouwer, the Master and His Work (trans. 1962), is a well-illustrated monograph which seeks to present a new critical evaluation of the painter and his artistic development. □

Brouwer, Adriaen (b ?Oudenaarde, c.1605; bur. Antwerp, 1 Feb. 1638). Flemish painter who spent a great part of his short working life at Haarlem in Holland. He moved there in about 1625 and according to Houbraken was a pupil of Frans Hals. In about 1631 he left Holland for Antwerp and evidently spent the rest of his career there. He perhaps died from the plague that swept the city in 1638. Brouwer was an important link between the Dutch and Flemish schools and played a major role in popularizing low-life genre scenes in both countries in which he worked. Early sources depict him as a colourful bohemian character (he was imprisoned in 1633, perhaps for debt) and his most typical works represent peasants brawling and drinking. Although the subject matter is humorously coarse, his technique is delicate and sparkling. The virtuosity of brushwork and economy of expression are perhaps even more evident in his landscapes, which are among the finest of his period. Rembrandt and Rubens were among the admirers and collectors of Brouwer's paintings (Rubens at one time owned seventeen), and Adriaen van Ostade and David Teniers the Younger were among his followers.

Brouwer, Adriaen (c.1605–38). Flemish painter who spent a great part of his short working life at Haarlem in Holland. He moved there in about 1625 and according to Houbraken was a pupil of Frans Hals. In about 1631 he left Holland for Antwerp and evidently spent the rest of his career there. He perhaps died from the plague that swept the city in 1638. Brouwer was an important link between the Dutch and Flemish schools and played a major role in popularizing low-life genre scenes in both countries in which he worked. Early sources depict him as a colourful bohemian character (he was imprisoned in 1633, perhaps for debt) and his most typical works represent peasants brawling and drinking. Although the subject matter is humorously coarse, his technique is delicate and sparkling. The virtuosity of brushwork and economy of expression are perhaps even more evident in his landscapes, which are among the finest of his period. Rembrandt and Rubens were among the admirers and collectors of Brouwer's paintings ( Rubens at one time owned seventeen), and Adriaen van Ostade and David Teniers the Younger were among his many followers.

Adriaen Brouwer , c.1606-1638, Flemish painter who worked in Haarlem. He studied with Hals at the same time as did the young Ostade, and the influence of their two styles, as well as that of Rubens, is apparent in his paintings. Brouwer is noted for his depictions of peasant life, particularly of drinking scenes and humorously treated single figures sleeping or smoking. Brouwer's early canvases were richly colored, in the Flemish style, while his later works (1631-38) were often monochromatic, a characteristic of the contemporary Dutch fashion. Brouwer was also an important master of landscape and a superb draftsman. His Drinkers at a Table (Brussels) and The Smokers (Metropolitan Mus.) are characteristic.

Bibliography: See study by G. Knuttel (tr. 1962).