Smokers in an Inn

Working in oil on panel, Adriaen Brouwer painted this group portrait around 1636, showing himself and four fellow artists gathered in a tavern. From left to right appear Jan Lievens, Brouwer himself, Joos van Craesbeeck, Jan Cossiers, and Jan Davidsz de Heem. They smoke, drink, and make faces at the viewer.

This was no flattering portrait. Brouwer shows his circle of friends as dissolute bohemians rather than respectable gentlemen. One figure grimaces, another blows smoke, while curling wisps drift through the air. The painting may have belonged to Rubens, who collected Brouwer's work despite their very different social positions.

Brouwer was an innovator of genre painting, depicting tavern scenes with unprecedented vitality. He died young, around 1638, but influenced generations of Dutch and Flemish painters. This painting is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.