The Drinkers - Oil On Copper By Mattheus Van Helmont (1623 - C.1679) Size: 16.5 X 23 Cm

Charming genre scene depicting drinkers seated in a rustic interior. Around a barrel serving as a table, several figures indulge in drinking in a convivial, lively atmosphere, while a servant busies herself in the background.
The composition, lively and narrative, illustrates with verve popular pleasures, an emblematic theme of 17th-century Flemish painting. The precise rendering of the figures, the richness of expression and the attention paid to everyday details testify to a fine pictorial mastery.
The copper support, typical of quality productions, lends the work a finesse of execution and a particular luminosity.

A counterpart to this work is also on salete in the same conditions, enabling the pair to be reconstituted

Comparable (extremely similar style and formats):
Matthieu VAN HELMONT (1623-c.1679) Scena di osteria
Lot no. 34 Paint Oil/copper 22.5 x 17 cm
Price with fees: 3 612 €
Capolavori da Collezione | Un'eredità della FondazioneCharlemagne a Sostegno del Programma Periferiacapitale: École de Paris,Avanguardie del Novecento e Antichi Maestri
21/10/2025 Casa d'Aste Arcadia S.r.l. Rome RM, Italy Details signed bottom left
Provenance: Galerie Filippo Franco / Collection of old master paintings / Rue de l'anèmone 18, Brussels Reproduced on page 67 of the catalog

Mattheus van Helmont

sometimes called van Hellemont (born Antwerp 1623, active Brussels after 1679), is renowned for his genre scenes inspired by everyday life, particularly the rural world. He began his career in his native city, before settling in Brussels around 1674. Trained in the wake of the great Flemish masters such as Adriaen Brouwer, David Ryckaert III and David Teniers II, he gradually detached himself from them to assert his own mature style. Accepted as a master of the Saint Luke's guild in Antwerp in 1645, he developed an abundant output, including tavern scenes, views of lively villages, popular festivals, and depictions of alchemists and craftsmen.
His works are most often signed or monogrammed. He passed on his artistic activity to his sons, Jan (b. 1650) and Gaspard (b. 1656), who also embraced the career of painter.

Public collections
Milan, Poldi-Pezzoli Museum
Stockholm, National muséun and Hallwylska Museet
Copenhagen, S. M. f. K.
Douai Museum
Gent Museum
Budapest Museum
.