_Isaac van Ostade_ (Dutch: 1621-1649).
Isaac, born at Haarlem, was the younger brother of Adrian van
Ostade, with whom he remained as pupil till 1641, when he set
up in business on his own account. There is a record of a
transaction of his in that year which throws an interesting
light on the picture-dealing world of the day. In 1643 a dealer
summoned him for breach of a contract made in 1641 to deliver
six pictures and seven "rounds" for twenty-seven florins. Part
of Isaac's defence was that his pictures had since risen in
value. The case was referred to the Painters' Guild, which
decided that he must perform his contract, but that the number
of the "rounds" should be reduced to five and the price of the
whole be increased to fifty florins. It may be conjectured that
the low value thus set upon the cottage scenes in his brother's
manner induced Isaac to cultivate a different style of his own.
This consisted largely of village inns (of which the present
picture is a capital example), and winter scenes (among which
No. 963 in our Gallery is a masterpiece). He combined a genuine
appreciation of nature with great skill in the treatment of
figures. He was fond, as will be seen, of introducing a white
horse to serve as the principal light in his compositions.
This picture was bought by Sir Robert Peel for 400 guineas, and was
esteemed, says Mrs. Jameson in her catalogue of his collection, "the
masterpiece of the painter. The transparent, sparkling beauty of the
execution was never surpassed. The figures, the foliage, the animals,
the atmospheric effect, are all perfect."