Both the Flemish school and the Dutch have an equal right to claim
Adriaen Brouwer (1605 or 6-1638), who, born at Oudenarde, carried on
the tradition of Bouts and the elder Brueghel. While still young, he
was at Haarlem powerfully impressed by the art of Frans Hals, although
it is extremely doubtful that he ever actually worked in his studio.
Finally, having settled at Antwerp in 1631, he benefited by the example
of Rubens. _The Smoker_ (No. 1916), in spite of the doubts that have
been cast upon it, is a characteristic work of his at the time when,
inspired by Frans Hals, he adopted a full impasto instead of his
earlier glazes. It is signed with his initials “AB” in the bottom
corner on the right. The handling is far coarser than that of the later
_Interior of a Tavern_ (No. 1912), which is quite Rembrandtesque in the
rendering of light and chiaroscuro. His inclination towards grimacing
expression often made him depict such scenes as _The Operation_ (No.
1915), in which the patient’s face is contorted with pain, while the
surgeon is bandaging his left shoulder.
Brouwer was the master of Joos van Craesbeeck (1606-1654?), who not
only closely followed his teaching, but actually painted many replicas
of Brouwer’s pictures which still pass under the better known artist’s
name. _The Artist painting a Portrait_ (No. 1952D) was supposed to
represent, and to be from the brush of, Brouwer, when the picture
was bought for the Louvre. But on technical grounds it must be given
to Craesbeeck—quite apart from the extreme improbability that the
dissolute Brouwer, who spent most of his time in low taverns, should
have lived in the elegant, not to say luxurious, surroundings here
depicted, and died young. There can be no doubt that the painter
seated before his easel, to whom a man-servant is offering a glass of
wine, is Joos van Craesbeeck.