A Merry Drinker

A man pours himself a glass of wine from a jug while smiling as he looks out of the picture.
Antwerp-born Jan Cossiers was a student of Cornelis De Vos, laterhe travelled via France to Italy where he was impressed by Caravaggism. It was on his return to Antwerp that he met the humanist Nicolas-Claude de Peiresc. That was a good friend of Rubens and he even advised Rubens to employ Cossiers. Back in Antwerp, the painter would collaborate on Rubens Torre de Parada series, among others. After Rubens' death in 1640, Cossiers received mainly religious commissions for large paintings (some of which are still preserved in Mechelen).
Our painting is clearly influenced by the Caravaggists: a daily theme with a merry drinker, depicted up to the waist with a striking use of light.  Cossier's style is clearly recognisable in his typically fluent touch, his treatment of the face and fingers and his predilection for a brownish colour palette.
2 other paintings of Cossiers with the same dimensions and comparable subjects do exist (Academy Vienna and private collection).
Oil on panel, 73,7 x 57 cm, Marked by the Antwerp Panel makers Guild on the reverse (see attachment)