Prince Maurice and Frederick Henry at the Valkenburg Horse Fair  1618

Van de Venne uses the arrival of Prince Maurice and his younger brother Frederick Henry – in a carriage [br]drawn by six grey horses – to underscore the contrast between the elegant conduct of Hague courtiers and the boorish manners of the peasants. The artist captures the atmosphere of the fair with vignettes of a singer and a woman selling fruit and vegetables whose pur...