Page:Hofstede de Groot catalogue raisonné, Volume 1, 1908.djvu/58

 34 JAN STEEN SECT. 91. THE HURDY-GURDY PLAYER ("Soo de ouden songen, soo pijpen de jongen "). Sm. 51 j W. 71. --Sixteen persons are taking their ease in a room. At a table with a white cloth in the centre sits a man in an arm-chair, raising his glass and singing with the others, and a thin woman with a fat child in her lap. Behind the man are an old woman, who sings from a sheet of music, and a young girl. Behind them a boy plays the fiddle ; a man grinds an organ, and another boy plays the bagpipes. In the foreground are two children a boy play- ing with a keyed pipe, and a girl playing with a pewter pot. Near them is a spaniel. Different objects lie on the floor. From the ceiling hangs a chandelier, having the first words of the proverb, " Soo dovde." Signed in full on the bottom of a cask ; panel, 16^ inches by 22^ inches. Described by Descamps and Waagen (supplement, p. 144). Exhibited at Manchester, 1857, No. 1053 ; at Burlington House, London, 1890, No. 60 ; at the Guildhall, London, 1892. Sales. (Probably) Swalmins, Rotterdam, May 15, 1747 (100 florins). (Probably) A. Leers, Amsterdam, May 19, 1767 (120 florins). Chevalier Traucottay, 1816 (4900 francs). In the collection of Chevalier Erard, bought privately by Smith (200). In the possession of Smith, 1828 (235 guineas). In the collection of Baron Verstolk van Soelen, The Hague, 1833. Sale. Heris of Brussels, Paris, March 25, 1841 (3800 florins). Purchased by Lord Overstone, 1846. Now in the collection of Lady Wantage, London, 1902 catalogue, No. 220. 92. THE MERRY PARTY (" Soo de ouden songen, soo pijpen de jongen"). Sm. 104; W. 149. In an interior, a family are seated at a well-appointed table. On the left a smiling woman holds out her glass to a servant, who raises his jug high in the air to pour out wine for her. On the right an old woman sings from a sheet of music, on which she follows the words with her finger. Another woman with a child at her breast sits at the table ; a boy standing beside her has put his lips to the spout of a jug that stands on the table. By the hearth stands a bagpiper. In the left foreground a boy takes a bottle from an ice-pail. Near the door at the back are a maid-servant and a little girl. A landscape hangs on the wall ; over the chimney-piece is a picture of a cavalry fight. The strong red in the dress of the woman sitting on the right contrasts curiously with the red in the table-cloth. The scene is brightly illumined from the left side. Signed in full ; canvas, 34^ inches by 28^ inches. Described by Ch. Blanc. "This very excellent production is engraved by Basan " (Sm.). Sale. M. . ., Paris, 1816 (8000 francs). Now in the museum at Montpellier, 1890 catalogue, No. 762, Valedau bequest. 93. THE MERRY PARTY ("Soo de ouden songen, soo pijpen de jongen "). In an open vestibule a company of persons are seated at a well-appointed table. Near it a flute-player reclines comfort-