Pieter Verelst

The schoolmaster and his pupils

Panel, 42 x 34 cm

The subject, which gained prominence thanks to the Haarlem painters Jan Miense Molenaer (c. 1610-1668), and Adriaen (1610-1685) and Isack van Ostade (1621-1649), can be traced back to sixteenth-century Flemish prints. Verelst painted peasant interiors in the manner of Van Ostade, Rembrandt-like history paintings and tronies, and genre scenes reminiscent of Gerrit Dou. This schoolroom scene is an excellent example of the latter.