Ignatius Josephus Van Regemorter – Inn Scene, 1828

by Atelier Liesjes

In a brick-paved courtyard stands a table covered with a white tablecloth. A man in a blue jacket and a black hat is sitting on a chair, holding a glass in his hand; his companion, wearing a dark blue coat with a white collar, is standing and, smiling, is holding aloft a white stoneware jug. To the right, in the doorway, stands a woman wearing a white bonnet, a blue bodice and a red skirt, her hand on her hip, whilst a brown dog looks up at the jug. On the left stands a wooden barrel; a blue-and-white chequered cloth hangs against the fence, and a sunflower blooms above the wall. Behind the houses, roofs and a stepped gable loom; a sign depicting a painted dancer hangs on the façade. The sky is a soft blue with gold-edged clouds. The painter chose a low vantage point, so that the figures stand out against the sky and the courtyard gains depth. The light falls from the left and glides over the linen, the jug and the red skirt, which act as splashes of colour in an otherwise earthy palette of ochre, brown and burnt sienna. The style is that of the narrative realism characteristic of Antwerp genre painting: a small, recognisable scene, with a sense of humour and an attention to the texture of stone, wood and fabric. The scene exudes the tranquillity of a late afternoon in a village. Ignatius Josephus Van Regemorter (Antwerp 1785 – Antwerp 1873) was one of the most sought-after genre painters of his generation in the city on the Scheldt. He drew inspiration from the daily lives of innkeepers, farmers and market traders, lending that world a warm, almost theatrical glow. This canvas is signed and dated 1828 in the lower left-hand corner, a period when his style was most closely aligned with seventeenth-century Flemish models. A lively, narrative work that fits perfectly into a classical or rustic interior.