Pickpocket

The onlookers clearly occupy a social stratum below that of the painter and his patrons. Their activities have both comic and disturbing overtones: a pickpocket takes advantage of an older woman's inattention; a schoolboy neglects his studies (see detail); several children look up at a monkey on the table (see detail); and a young boy lures a bird in an action that mimics that of the quack (see detail).