164 JAN STEEN SECT. In an English collection, 1901. Now in the possession of A. Bredius and exhibited in the Royal Picture Gallery, The Hague, No. 664. 626. A COUNTRY FAIR. Sm. 4 and Suppl. 49 ; W. 93 and 278. In an arbour adjoining a picturesque tavern a rustic couple are dancing to the music of bagpipes and a fiddle. About ten spectators surround them. Three men and a woman in a red jacket sit round a tub in the right foreground, drinking. Farther to the right is an old woman with a jug and a glass. Behind her, at the garden gate, are a pair of lovers. A peasant is led away by an old and a young woman. A boy carries his cloak and hat. Another man sleeps on the grass. Near him are two children and a pig. On the left is a view of the village street lined with booths. " Painted in a free and spirited style " (Sm.). Signed in full half-way up the left-hand side ; canvas, 42^ inches by '62 inches. [Compare 652^.] Sales. Count van Hoogendorp, The Hague, July 27, 1751, No. 8 (830 florins). J. A. Brentano, Amsterdam, May 13, 1822, No. 324 (730 florins) measuring 31^ inches by 50 inches. In the Boursault collection, purchased by Arteria for Edmund Higginson (Sm.). Sale. Edmund Higginson, Saltmarsh Castle, Kent, 1842 catalogue, No. 12; 1846 (136); i86oGio 5 ). In the possession of the dealer J. E. Goedhart, Amsterdam. Given by Eduard Willem van Broekhuyse, 1895, to the Haarlem Museum. Now in the Haarlem Museum, 1902 catalogue, No. 192*7. 627. PEASANTS IN A LANDSCAPE. This picture is genuine, but unusual in character and very indecorous, even for Jan Steen. The child with the hobby-horse alone reminds one of his work. Canvas, 17 inches by 23 inches. Now in the Kunsthalle, Hamburg, 1887 catalogue, No. 171 ; the bequest of E. Harzen. 628. A COUNTRY FAIR IN FRONT OF A TAVERN. Sm. 6 ; W. 57. Several jovial peasants are in front of a tavern by a canal. Seven others come along in a boat. A peasant with crutches carries on his head a basket of eggs. In the background a young man sits on the ground filling his pipe. It is a composition of numerous figures, resembling closely in style the large picture belonging to the Duke of Wellington (600). Canvas, 46 inches by 6i| inches. Described by Nagler and Waagen (ii. 10). In the collection of King William IV., 1833 (Sm.). Now at Buckingham Palace, 1885 catalogue, No. 56. 629. A VILLAGE FAIR. The elaborate landscape background reminds one of Isaak Van Ostade. A row of houses among trees stretches away on the left into the distance ; it is in part somewhat unskilfully rendered. In the foreground are numerous groups of small figures. On the left is a booth, in front of which a man pulls a woman by her skirt.
