The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

Village Festival

c. 1646–50

David Teniers

(Flemish, 1610–1690)
Flanders
oil on canvas
Framed: 57 x 91 x 9 cm (22 7/16 x 35 13/16 x 3 9/16 in.); Unframed: 37.7 x 71.3 cm (14 13/16 x 28 1/16 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin 1977.122
Location: 101A Prints & Drawings

Did You Know?

Surviving drawings show that Teniers sketched many peasants from life, and similar figures appear throughout his peasant paintings from about 1640 to 1660.

Description

Depictions of peasant festivals, such as weddings, harvests, and village holidays became an extremely popular subject for Flemish artists during the 1600s. In his paintings of these festive occasions David Teniers the Younger (1610–1690), portrayed peasants dancing and playing music, focusing on the cheerful elements of peasant life. His images often feature close-knit family groups taking part in the celebration. Contrary to his predecessors, who often depicted broken and disorderly still life objects in their paintings, Teniers emphasized household objects in brass, ceramic, and glass in a perfect state to demonstrate the growing prosperity of the peasants.
  • -1790 M. Marin
    , sold, 03/22/1790, no.16
    1790-1816 M. Catelan
    -1832 M. le Chevalier Erard, Paris, sold, 21 rue de Clery, Paris, 08/07 - 14/1832, no. 150, to Count Horace Francois Bastien Sebastiani
    1832- Count Horace Francois Bastien Sebastiani (1772-1851)
    -1851 Marchal of France, sold, rue du Fraubourg Saint Honore, 11/24 - 28/1851, no. 157, to Thomas Jefferson Bryan
    1851-1867 Thomas Jefferson Bryan, by gift to the New-York Historical Society
    1867-1971 New York Historical Society, sold, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 12/02/1971, no. 89, to Noah L. Butkin
    1971-1977 Noah L. Butkin (Shaker Heights, Ohio), by gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1977.
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, Part 3: European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. Reproduced: p. 43; Mentioned: p. 43-44
  • In Vino Veritas (In Wine, Truth). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 7, 2025-January 11, 2026).
    Rubens and His Time. Museo de San Carlos (INBA) (November 5, 1998-February 28, 1999); Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara (Galleria d'Arte Moderna et Contemporanea) (March 1-June 1, 1999).
    The Museo Nacional de San Carlos, INBA, Mexico City, Mexico (11/05/1998 - 02/28/1999); Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara, Italy (03/28/1999 - 06/27/1999) "Rubens and His Time" (cat. no 77 (Mexico) cat. no. 56 (Italy))
    Lutes, Lovers, and Lyres: Musical Imagery in the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 14-June 11, 1989).
    Cleveland Museum of Art (02/14/1989 - 06/11/1989) "Lutes, Lovers, and Lyres: Musical Imagery in the Collection" (no catalogue)
    Cleveland Museum of Art (1978) "Year in Review" (cat. no. 44)
    Year in Review: 1977. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1977-January 22, 1978).
  • {{cite web|title=Village Festival|url=false|author=David Teniers|year=c. 1646–50|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1977.122