Landscape with hunters, Elegant Company and Farmers

Several scenes play out around a central hamlet surrounded by water. On the right we see a hunting scene -somewhat referring to Hans Bol- where a noble lady accompanied by a horseman participates in a dog hunt.  Several game drivers, accompanied by their dogs hunt the game. In the centre left, a party of noblemen are feasting and flirting around a bountiful meal. On the far left, a peasant woman feasts on a jug while her husband rests beside his scythe. A little deeper, the grain is being threshed and sifted. At the back, linen is washed in a large tub and spread out on a bleaching field.

After Pieter Brueghel the Elder died, his engravings and paintings got really popular. Because there were hardly any paintings by the master available (a large part of Brueghel's oeuvre was already in Vienna at the time), demand was very high. This was exploited by some of Brueghel's contemporaries and followers, such as Hans Bol, Pieter Balten, Maarten Van Cleve, his son Pieter Brueghel II and, of course:  Jacob Grimmer and his son Abel Grimmer.

Inspired by the great master, Jacob Grimmer made copies, pastiches or (as in this case) created his own compositions with a Brueghelian touch. In addition, it is known that Jacob Grimmer had good and strong ties with Hans Bol, the well-known painter and draughtsman from Mechelen, known for his small-format works.
Although this is an exceptionally large and ‘rich’ work for the master, his style is clearly recognisable: a slightly mysterious atmospere, the figuration and architecture are slightly less detailed and simplified (the painter wanting to capture the essence, as it were). The fairly monochrome colour scheme is typical of this period.

Oil on panel, 112 x 89 cm