Old Flemish Master Painting Cornelis Dusart

Cornelis Dusart Oil on Canvas Painting Late 17th Century This beautiful oil painting is the work of the important Flemish artist Cornelis Dusart (Haarlem 1660–1704). The painting is in an 18th-century frame of oxidized "mecca" gilded wood, bearing the original label with the artist's name. The scene is typical of the great Dutch school of the 16th and 17th centuries. We can admire here the dignity of the peasant woman as she carries a large basket of bread, and how the entire room is so well-kept despite the severe poverty we can discern in it. A painting within a painting, the beautiful still life is in the bottom center of the painting with a variety of vegetables and tubers, featuring a wonderful play of light and shadow on the bowls. The bright rays of sun make for these plays of light, piercing the darkness of the modest home. This simple home is the finest shelter for this lovely figure of a woman who, though bent with the heavy basket on her shoulders, leaning on a staff and tired, conveys a great feeling of humility in the highest sense of the word. Various stamps are on the back, likely showing the passage of the painting between different galleries, exhibitions, and private collections over time. This important school, led by the founder and great artist Pieter Bruegel or Brueghel (Breda, 1525/1530– Brussels 1569), depicts scenes from everyday life. Paintings would depict both outdoor subjects, such as village festivals, indoor scenes, such as in this wonderful painting, and scenes of taverns and inns.