Contact gallery for price		Jan Josef Horemans the Elder 1682 - Antwerp - 1759 A Family Celebration Oil on canvas 18 3/4 x 22 1/2 (57 x 47.5 cm) Signed: J Horemans   Provenance:  Hemdon Hall - Polk Family Mansion, Des Moines, Iowa, since the 1930s Jan Horemans the Elder is known primarily as a painter of historical and genre scenes.  He studied first under sculptor Michael van der Voort and continued as a student of Jan van Pel.  In 1706 he became a master of the St. Luke's guild in Antwerp where he spent his entire life.  His genre paintings were created in the same line as his predecessor, David Teniers I, repeatedly depicting interiors with card players and cabaret interiors.  His most famous pupil was his son, Jan Josef Horemans the Younger, who worked in a very similar style.  In fact father and son often collaborated and it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the style of one from that of the other.  The Elder was called the "Brown Horemans" and the Younger was called the "Lighter Horemans" to distinguish between their slightly darker and lighter palettes. Our charming interior scene records a celebratory gathering.  Around a central linen-covered table spread with food and drink are a group of merrymakers welcoming the recent birth of an infant.  As the child is held in the arms of a woman whose back is to the viewer, the scene is interrupted by a gentleman visitor bearing gifts for the new family member.  He is greeted by the elegantly clad mistress of the household who is seated at the table tending to a small child when she turns to greet the newcomer.  At the same moment, around the table other vignettes are also taking place: a glass is raised for a toast, lovers kiss and an elderly woman brings a glass to her lips. This activity all takes place in front of a fireplace with a mantel dominated by the large fruit still life hung above it.  On the mantel are a mortar and pestle, a small ceramic vessel and a single candlestick as well as a napkin and a gentleman's hat.  Hung from the mantel is a textile, which matches those on the covered bed at the right of the room.   The green hue of these draperies is highlighted by the daylight entering the room through tall paned windows behind the toasting gentleman. The still life details on the table and mantle and the many details of the exquisitely rendered drape and folds of the garments, which are in fact based on seventeenth century costumes, attest to the master's talent and indications that he is at his best with our picture. Certain of the figures in this composition appear in other works by both the father and son.  The elderly woman appears in Rent Day (private collection, Lincolnville, Maine, 1962) holding a basket of fruit, and also in The Usurer (exhibited, Musée Ancien, Brussels, 1930, by the Elder), where she is depicted holding a weighing device.  Models for the toasting gentleman and mistress of the household re-appear in sketches by both of the Horemans in the collection at the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh.  In fact another version of our painting, location unknown, is listed as a pendant to The Newborn in a private collection in New England (exhibited in The Collector's Cabinet, Worcester, 1983).  A pair of paintings showing virtually the same compositions as our painting and The Newborn were once attributed to Horemans' uncle, Pieter Jacob Horemans (1700 - 1776).   It seems that both Horemans I and II repeatedly placed the more successful characters of their genre paintings in their works and created more than one version of the most popular compositions.