National Gallery of Art :: The Collection :: Youth Making a Face
  • Overview
  • Provenance
  • Exhibition History
  • Bibliography

Overview

The uncouth youth in this painting confronts us with a recognizable, yet thoroughly unexpected gesture. Packed with an energy that far exceeds its scale, Adriaen Brouwer's unidealized depiction of this young Flemish peasant is an excellent example of seventeenth-century realism. Yet, as evident in the youth's aggressive behavior, this slice-of-life image also offers a visual critique of rural behavior and mores.

The mocking gesture of Brouwer's youth is one that could well be found in a seventeenth-century tavern, but its tradition reaches back to depictions of Christ appearing before Pilate that drew upon the Scriptures: "...the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him" (Luke 22:63). In Brouwer's painting, the offensive and shocking gesture of this peasant is directed at the viewer. The unkempt hair, the stubble under his chin, and the knife stuck through his fur hat elicit a surprised, if not horrified, response. Additionally, Brouwer's vigorous handling of paint, with his characteristically short, unmodulated brushstrokes, heightens this small painting's dramatic impact.

Adriaen Brouwer's keen observation and biting wit suggest that he sought to create a "vulgar painter" persona. Numerous anecdotes also indicate that he led a colorful and dissolute existence. According to one account, Brouwer was frequently excluded from family celebrations because of his untidy appearance. Anticipating a certain wedding, he bought a fashionable costume that earned him an invitation. In the midst of the festivities, he took two pies and smeared them all over his fancy clothes. Brouwer then announced to the astonished guests that since it was the suit, rather than the man wearing it, that had been invited, it deserved to feast on the food.

With Youth Making a Face, Brouwer created an image that exposes human folly and forces the viewer, regardless of status, to confront a threatening and mocking world. Brouwer does not pretend to help us with this world; he only warns us of its existence and the fact that its disquieting face can appear at unexpected times. The mocking gesture also reminds us, whether through our laughter or outrage, that we recognize with embarrassing familiarity the all-too-human nature of his character.

(Text by Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., published in the National Gallery of Art exhibition catalogue, Art for the Nation, 2000)

Inscription

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Marks and Labels

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Provenance

Everhard Jabach [1610-1695], Paris.[1] Possibly Nicolaus Hudtwalcker [1791-1863], Hamburg, by 1863.[2] (Nathan Katz, The Hague and Dieren); (his sale, Galerie Charpentier, Paris, 12 July 1950, no. 9). (Kunsthandel P. de Boer, Amsterdam). W. Reineke, Amersfoort, by 1962. Private collection, The Netherlands, by 1982; (Noortman Ltd., London and Maastricht); purchased 9 June 1994 by NGA.

[1] Jabach died 9 March 1695, and an inventory of his collection was drawn up by his eldest son, also named Everhard, who had come to Paris from Cologne for that purpose. Dated 17 July 1696, the inventory was published by Vicomte de Grouchy ("Éverhard Jabach, collectionneur parisien [1695], Mémoires de la Société de l'Histoire de Paris et de l'Ile-de-France XXI [1894]: 217-292); no. 661 is "Petit tableau, sur bois, d'un paisan qui s'ouvre la bouche avec les doigts, demie-figure, de Brauwer. 75 liv."

[2] NGA 1994.46.1 is possibly the one mentioned in G. Parthey, Deutscher Bildersaal, 2 vols., Berlin, 1863: 1: 208, no. 88. However, according to Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, A catalogue raisonné of the works of the most eminent Dutch painters of the seventeenth century based on the work of John Smith..., 10 vols., London, 1907-1927: 3(1910): 657, no. 222j, it is not in the 1889 catalogue of the Hudtwalcker-Wesselhoeft Collection. .

Exhibition History

1932
Hundert Seltene Höllander, Galerie Dr. Schäfer, Berlin, 1932, no. 16.
1932
Hundert Seltene Holländer, Galerie Dr. Schäffer, Berlin, 1932, no. 16, as Bauer, eine Grimmasse schneidend.
1982
Adriaen Brouwer/David Teniers the Younger. A Loan Exhibition of Paintings, Noortman & Brod, New York; Noortman & Brod, Maastricht, The Netherlands, 1982, no. 7, color repro., as Boy pulling faces.
1995
Adriaen Brouwer: Youth Making a Face, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1995-1996, unnumbered brochure, color repro. on cover.
1998
A Collector's Cabinet, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1998, no. 8, fig. 16.
2000
Art for the Nation: Collecting for a New Century, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2000-2001, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

Bibliography

1863
Parthey, Gustav Frederich. Deutscher Bildersaal. 1864: 1:208 (possibly the NGA painting).
1907
Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A catalogue raisonné of the works of the most eminent Dutch painters of the seventeenth century based on the work of John Smith. 8 vols. London, 1907-1927: 3:657, no. 222j (possibly NGA painting).
1962
Knuttel, Gerard (Gerhardus). Adriaen Brouwer. The Master and His Work. The Hague, 1962: 152, pl. 103.
1993
Robert Noortman Gallery. Dutch and Flemish Old Master Paintings. Maastricht and London, 1993: no. 6, color repro.
1993
Sutton, Peter C., and Marjorie E. Wieseman, et al. The Age of Rubens. Exh. cat. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Toledo (Ohio) Museum of Art. Boston, 1993: 62, repro.
1995
Richard, Paul. "Small Wonders: At the National Gallery, Some Tiny Dutch Treats." Washington Post (September 23, 1995): C1-2, repro.
2004
Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004
2005
Wheelock, Jr., Arthur K. Flemish Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2005: 10-13, color repro.
2012
Tummers, Anna. The Eye of the Connoisseur: Authenticating Paintings by Rembrandt and His Contemporaries. Amsterdam, 2012: 156, color fig. 98.

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