Like to like 1640 - 1645

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drawing, watercolor

drawing

narrative-art

baroque

watercolor

intimism

group-portraits

watercolour illustration

genre-painting

Dimensions: 139 mm (height) x 218 mm (width) (bladmaal)

This watercolor and gouache on paper, by Jacob Jordaens, presents a boisterous gathering, embodying the proverb 'Like to Like', etched at the top. At a table, figures of varying ages and social classes revel, while children and a dog frolic below. The figures around the table are engaged in eating and drinking which has been a symbol of communal harmony. This is contrasted by the subtle suggestion of overindulgence, a motif recurrent in art history from ancient Roman bacchanals to Pieter Bruegel the Elder's peasant festivals. Note how the dog, a symbol of loyalty, is playfully interacting with the children, a parallel to the adult's social interactions. The communal meal, a symbol of social bonding since antiquity, transcends cultures, echoing in Renaissance banquets and modern-day family dinners. The cyclical nature of such imagery reveals the enduring human need for connection. As seen here, these are powerful forces that engage viewers on a subconscious level.

Comments

statensmuseumforkunst over 1 year ago

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At the end of the 15th century, Netherlands artists such as Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516) and Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1527-1569) helped create the tradition, still alive far into the 17th century, of illustrating proverbs and other popular wisdom. Jordaens was one of the last great practitioners of the genre. The illustration of the proverb In order to leave no doubts as to the picture’s contents, the artist has illustrated the point that one should stick with one’s own class by presenting four couples, each of them personifying the simple message with almost demonstrative didacticism. All are seated around a table, their faces turned to us as though on a stage. On the floor is a boy with a dog (or the other way around) and a girl with a doll; to the right is a pair of young lovers locked in a tender embrace; in the middle an elderly married couple sings; and to the left we see a friar and a nun, an odd couple, perhaps - and yet! Another motif - another proverb On closer inspection, perhaps this picture also incorporates another motif: an illustration for a proverb often used by Jordaens: "As the old sing, so the young pipe", as the little boy and girl purse their lips, seemingly mimicking the old people’s song. In another of the artist’s pictures the proverb is illustrated very literally: the girl plays a whistle, while the boy smokes a pipe.