The Village Party
Pieter Angillis, The Village Party, 1727, oil on canvas, Museum Purchase: Funds provided by the 2014 New for the Wall event, Roger and Sloan Barnett, and the European and American Art Council in memory of Richard Geary, public domain, 2014.129.1
This work is not currently on view.
- Title
The Village Party
- Artist
- Date
1727
- Medium
oil on canvas
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
19 in x 24 in
- Collection Area
European Art
- Category
Paintings
- Object Type
painting
- Culture
Flemish
- Credit Line
Museum Purchase: Funds provided by the 2014 New for the Wall event, Roger and Sloan Barnett, and the European and American Art Council in memory of Richard Geary
- Accession Number
2014.129.1
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
This painting and its pendant nearby celebrate the English country pub as the bastion of public leisure. Often confined indoors by rain, the villagers are depicted reveling in sunshine. At left, a travelling hurdy-gurdy player has arrived and is cranking out a lively jig. One couple is already dancing as a lady coaxes her reluctant companion to join them. Behind, people enjoy food and drink, and a bit of courting on the grass. Such paintings were probably not created for country squires, but for city dwellers, who longed for what they imagined as the simple, undemanding existence of happy country folk.