Village Fair, 1644

Molenaer was famous for these types of tableaux: eating and drinking in seedy taverns, dancing to bagpipe music and various other types of lewd behaviour. In the foreground, a drunken couple makes love lying on the ground. Behind them, one of the two distinguished gentlemen points to the lovemaking. A tavern with an outdoor staircase, which leads to a brothel, can be seen on the left. To the very far left, a man urinates, watched by a kneeling woman. Such peasant scenes were very popular. They were owned by townspeople who gloated over the riotous behaviour of farmers. In reality, however, country folk were nothing like the inferior beings they were made out to be in paintings.