A Peasant holding a Glass 

David Teniers the Younger painted this character study of a peasant with oil on panel sometime in the 17th century. Teniers was Flemish, and the culture of the Netherlands at this time was known for its scenes of everyday life, often involving the working class enjoying the simple pleasures of taverns, drink and the like. Here the peasant’s presentation is somewhat ambiguous. Is he a figure of fun, with his toothy grin, beard and rustic garb? Or is there something sympathetic in the depiction of his enjoyment? Such images are not neutral. They reflect and comment on the social structures of their time. It is the job of historians to explore the complex cultural meanings of such works, drawing on resources from contemporary literature to the economic history of taverns. This peasant is, in that sense, a mirror to his times, and to ours.