signed and dated ‘Pieter Quast/ 1638’ and numbered ‘11’
graphite on vellum, graphite framing lines
22.2 x 30.2 cm

Provenance:
L. Rouzé-Huet (died circa 1889), Lille (L. 1742).
Maurice Delacre (1862-1938), Ghent; Gutekunst & Klipstein, Bern, 21 June 1949, lot 391.
Anonymous sale; Gutekunst & Klipstein, Bern, 22 November 1956, lot 248, where presumably
acquired by;
Dr. Walter Beck (1895-1960), Berlin (L. 2603b), by descent to;
Dr. Hans-Ulrich Beck (1930-2010), Augsburg (his mark, not in Lugt, verso) and by descent to the
previous owner.

While Pieter Quast was a versatile artist treating many different subjects, the largest part of his
output consisted of paintings and drawings of peasant scenes and ‘merry companies’. These works,
showing men drinking, smoking and playing cards in a variety of settings, offer a fascinating insight
into Dutch 17th-century culture. Although documents that shed light on Quast’s own life are scarce,
those that do survive paint a picture of a rather challenging existence, seemingly not far removed
from that depicted in his paintings and drawings.

In 1632 Quast married Annetje Splinter, [1] who was active as a flower painter, in Sloten near Amsterdam. [2]
Two years later, in 1634, the couple moved to The Hague, where Quast joined the Guild of Saint Luke.
The couple stayed in The Hague for nine years, a period marked by financial strain and frequent
conflicts. Quast failed to pay his debts to a shopkeeper, an innkeeper and a carpenter, which resulted
in several court cases. In 1639, the artist bought a house on the Groene Burgwal, but instead of
paying the required 1700 guilders, Quast only paid 100 guilders, prompting further difficulties. From
1643 onwards the couple lived in Amsterdam, but despite Quast’s prolific artistic production, the
couple continued facing financial problems and disputes.

One of the most heated of these disputes took place in 1643. According to several witnesses, Annetje
became embroiled in a quarrel on 1 June of that year while hosting a clergyman named Gaspar
van Rouwbergen (or Casper Ruijbergen) in the house in which the family was then living. When the
subject of prostitutes arose, the clergyman remarked that ‘ick soude een hoer wel voor haer aensicht
slaen’ (I would hit a prostitute in the face) to which Annetje replied ‘Wel, Mynheer, gae je in sulcke
huysen?’ (Well, sir, do you visit such houses?). He responded, ‘In kercken comen wel hoeren, souden
der dan in de herbergen geen comen’ (Prostitutes do visit churches, wouldn’t they also visit taverns)

to which Annetje retorted ‘Wel, mynheer, ick looff wel dat gy der wel hondert getast en gevoelt hebt’
(Well, Sir, I believe you must have felt up and touched at least a hundred of them). Enraged, the
clergyman called Annetje a prostitute and attacked her, scratching and striking her in the face. At this
point Pieter Quast rushed in with a knife, which he held to the clergyman’s chest, threatening to stab
him. As Abraham Bredius, who published this story in his article on Quast, observed ‘Hebben wij hier
niet bijna een schilderij van Quast voor oogen?’ (Isn’t this almost a scene from Quast’s paintings?). [3]
And indeed, Quast’s life and art seem to have been closely intertwined.

The present drawing, which comes from the collection of Hans-Uhlrich Beck, is a characteristic sheet
by the artist, both in style and execution as well as in subject matter. A group of men is shown playing
cards, smoking a pipe and drinking. The scene is set just outside a village, perhaps so that the men
could indulge in illegal gambling and heavy drinking away from prying eyes. This type of genre scene
had become increasingly popular after the theme was fully developed by artists such as David Teniers
I (1582-1649), David Teniers II (1610-1690) and Adriaen Brouwer (circa 1605/6-1638) in Flanders.
Whereas Teniers and Brouwer mainly produced paintings, Quast created many large and finished
drawings on vellum, like the present sheet, which were made directly for the art market. [4] Besides the
influence of Teniers and Brouwer, Quast also took inspiration from Dutch theatre and from prints by
Jacques Callot (1592-1635). [5] Due to his strong admiration for his French contemporary, Quast was
later even dubbed the ‘Dutch Callot’.

[1] E. Buijsen et. al., Haagse schilders in de Gouden Eeuw: het Hoogsteder lexicon van alle schilders werkzaam in
Den Haag 1600-1700, 1998, The Hague, p. 348.
[2] W. Liedtke, Dutch Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New Haven and London, 2007, p. 539.
[3] A. Bredius, ‘Pieter Jansz. Quast’, Oud Holland, 1902, pp. 65-82.
[4] B.A. Stanton-Hirst, ‘Pieter Quast and the Theatre’, Oud Holland, 96, no. 4 (1982), p. 213.
[5] See B.A. Stanton-Hirst, op. cit., pp. 213-237.