Contact gallery for price		Hendrick Potuyl Active in Amsterdam, 2nd quarter, 17th century Peasants Merrymaking Red chalk with pencil on paper 2.6 x 21 cm. Signed: Potuil Provenance: Jolles Sale, Helbing, Munich, Oct. 1895 Private Collection, Germany There is not much information known about the life of Hendrick Potuyl. The artist sometimes painted but was primarily a draughstman. He worked in the style of and was undoubtedly influenced by David Teniers. One of Potuyl’s favorite and often depicted subjects was interior scenes with peasants. Our composition portrays two peasants conversing amiably in a rustic, village setting. They are outside; a wooden fence stands at the left of the picture and a woman is seated nearby at the right. In the prominent center of the composition are the two peasant men. The man on the left is seated on a stool, shown in profile, legs crossed, and holding a pipe in his left hand and a jug in his right. The man seems to laugh with his companion, as he tilts his head back and emits pipe smoke from his lips. The other male figure stands holding a sack draped over his shoulder and resting a foot on a nearby table. He turns his head to the left, his gaze directed towards a nearby scene outside the picture frame.