Man Holding a Jug

A moment’s glance at a tavern habitué allows the painter to display his remarkable gifts for describing character as well as physical substances and light effects. "Low life" studies of this kind can be traced back in the Spanish Netherlands through Adriaen Brouwer and his followers to Pieter Bruegel in the 1560s, but Sweerts makes the subject look freshly observed. (Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art)