Page:Hofstede de Groot catalogue raisonné, Volume 1, 1908.djvu/168

 144 JAN STEEN SECT. Saks. William II. of Holland, The Hague, August 12, 1850, No. 99 (3000 florins, Pescatore) ; the dimensions are wrongly given as 13 inches by 14 inches. J. P. Pescatore, Paris, 1851. Now in the Pescatore Museum, Luxemburg, 1872 catalogue, No. 60. [A similar picture, called "Twelfth Night," was in the sale of William Champion, London, 1810 (105).] 535. A MERRY COMPANY. In a well-lighted room a family are seated at table. In the foreground a young man laughing holds out his glass to a girl who raises a jug to pour out wine for him. The girl wears a brown dress and a blue apron. Farther back is a woman with a child at her breast ; a man seated at her side is kissing her. In the back- ground are a bagpiper and a boy, -who has mounted a ladder to give food to a parrot in a cage hanging from the ceiling. In all there are sixteen persons, with a dog in the foreground. The execution is somewhat sketchy, but the lighting is very refined. Signed in full to the right on the back of a chair ; canvas, 32^ inches by 27! inches. Now in the Louvre, La Caze collection, 1900 catalogue, No. 2579. 536. A MERRY COMPANY IN FRONT OF AN INN. Sm. Suppl. 58 ; W. 157. Twenty men and women sit at table in front of an inn. Near the table a comely woman pours out a glass of wine for an aged man seated on a bench. Between them are an old woman and a young woman, who holds out a jug to a man standing beside a white ass. Through a doorway are seen several figures, buildings, and the entrance to a village. On the right is a house built on piles ; near it is a bowling green. In the foreground are various kitchen utensils ; a youth sits smok- ing on a bench near a sleeping dog. To the left is a staircase with several figures upon it. On the house hangs a signboard, inscribed : "Als men wel lostig heeft gesopen ont geweten de vriendelyke pypen vol toch niet vergeten niet zonder dat." ["When one has right merrily eaten and drunk, one will not forget the friendly pipes."] Signed in full in the centre of the foreground ; canvas on panel, 24^ inches by 33 inches. Sales. D. Teixeira, jun., The Hague, July 23, 1832, No. 71 (1700 florins). Martini, Paris, March 23, 1844 (3450 francs). Baron de, Paris, March 25, 1857 (3200 francs). In the possession of the dealer F. Kleinberger, Paris. Now in the collection of the Marquis d'Aoust, Paris. [A second " Merry Company" in the same collection is 586.] 537. A MERRY COMPANY AT TABLE. Twelve persons, with many accessories in the foreground and a fine curtain similar to that in the picture in the Mauritshuis (595). In the collection of the late Baron Alphonse de Rothschild, Paris. 538. A MERRY COMPANY. There are in all twelve figures.