Public domain · the inn, the kermis and the bar

The Tavern

The night out, from Brouwer’s back room to Lautrec’s bar on the Rue Royale.

Haarlem, Antwerp and Leiden painted their own drinkers more frankly than anyone: Brouwer’s card game turning into a fight, Jan Steen’s households coming apart at the seams, Judith Leyster’s toper tipping his empty jug at you, Teniers’s village dancing outside the inn. The room carries on into Paris with Delacroix’s Mephistopheles among the students and Lautrec at the Moulin Rouge. Each piece names the museum that holds it and the year it was made.

As the Old Sang, the Young Play Pipes — Three generations at one table, and every one of them singing.

As the Old Sang, the Young Play Pipes

Antwerp, 1638

Peasants Drinking About — A tavern table at the stage where nobody is sitting up straight.

Peasants Drinking About

Haarlem, c. 1625

Interior of a Tavern — Two men at cards in front, and a man at the post singing.

Interior of a Tavern

Haarlem or Antwerp, c. 1630

Peasants Drinking — Drinkers under a vine trellis outside the inn door.

Peasants Drinking

Haarlem, after 1676

The Bitter Potion — The face of a man who has just drunk the wrong thing.

The Bitter Potion

Antwerp, c. 1636 to 1638

Smoking Peasants (Pipe Smokers) — A red cap, a long pipe and a jug on the knee.

Smoking Peasants (Pipe Smokers)

Antwerp, 17th century

The Drunken Couple — She is asleep in her finery, he is asleep in his chair.

The Drunken Couple

Leiden, c. 1655 to 1665

Village Festival — The whole village out in front of the inn, dancing.

Village Festival

Antwerp, 17th century

Tavern Scene — Cards on the barrel, a jug on the floor, a dog asleep.

Tavern Scene

Antwerp, 1658

Prince’s Day — An inn celebrates the birthday of William III.

Prince’s Day

Leiden, 1660 to 1679

Peasant Brawl — The card game outside the inn turns into a fight.

Peasant Brawl

Haarlem, c. 1625 to 1626

The Jolly Toper — A red plume, a tilted jug and a grin aimed straight at you.

The Jolly Toper

Haarlem, 1629

The Smokers — Five friends in a smoky corner, one blowing a ring at the ceiling.

The Smokers

Antwerp, c. 1636

The Dissolute Household — The wife asleep, the husband flirting, the house falling apart.

The Dissolute Household

Leiden, c. 1663 to 1664

The Twelfth Night Feast — A child crowned king for the night, and a man drinking from the jug.

The Twelfth Night Feast

Leiden, 17th century

The Irish and American Bar, Rue Royale — A Paris bar, the barman at work, the regulars in top hats.

The Irish and American Bar, Rue Royale

Paris, 1896

At the Moulin Rouge: La Goulue and Her Sister — The dancer La Goulue walks the floor of the Moulin Rouge.

At the Moulin Rouge: La Goulue and Her Sister

Paris, 1892

Violin Player with a Wine Glass — A musician with a glass raised and a broken-toothed grin.

Violin Player with a Wine Glass

Utrecht, 1623

The Dance in the Inn — A fiddler plays and the whole barn-like inn dances.

The Dance in the Inn

Haarlem, 1652

Mephistopheles in the Tavern of the Students — The devil pours, and wine turns to fire on the tavern floor.

Mephistopheles in the Tavern of the Students

Paris, 1828