The painter Harlem Adrian van Ostade (1610 - 1685) is usually considered
humorous artistdepicting the village life of a simple Dutch population, farmers and artisans, their village festivals and fairs, their fights and meetings on a village street.
His paintings were popular among the urban bourgeois public, in particular because of the satirical character, the animated exaggeration of the characters and their moralizing content. Because beer and wine jugs, pipes and playing cards were common symbols of bad manners and vices. Many modern viewers saw how their own pleasant behavior is reflected, and were prompted to moderation. Nevertheless, entertaining subjects were delighted, and it was possible to laugh at “funny” farmers.