Malle Babbe 1930 - 1940

"Malle Babbe" is a painting by Dutch artist Han van Meegeren, created between 1930 and 1940 and now housed in the Rijksmuseum. The painting depicts a woman, likely a peasant, with a wide, boisterous laugh as she raises a large pewter tankard. This figure is often depicted in Dutch genre paintings and is known as a "Malle Babbe," a term meaning "foolish woman" or "simpleton." The painting's realism and focus on everyday life are characteristic of 17th-century Dutch Golden Age painting, a style that van Meegeren skillfully emulated.