The Three Drinkers c. 17th century

Curator: This is Cornelis Bega's "The Three Drinkers," an etching currently residing at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: There's a distinct somberness despite the convivial theme; the etched lines seem to capture a weary resignation. Curator: Tavern scenes were common in the Dutch Golden Age, yet Bega often imbued them with a psychological complexity beyond mere genre painting. The hats, for instance, conceal, suggesting anonymity and perhaps shared identity. Editor: Are the figures archetypes then, standing for broader societal commentary on labor, leisure, or perhaps the burden of daily life? Curator: Precisely! The drinking becomes a ritual act, a means of social cohesion and escape from hardship, embedded within a long tradition of representing shared experience. Editor: The composition almost traps them, the tight frame amplifying the closeness and hinting at limitations. It's heavy with implication, the kind of image that lingers.