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Judith Jans Leyster 1609-1660
Born in Haarlem, Leyster was a Dutch painter who specialsed in portraits, still life and genre (scenes from everyday life) paintings. Art historians feel that there is a similiarity between Leyster's work and that of Frans Hals, leading to speculation that she might have been a student of his at one time. Read more about Judith Leyster at Wikipedia and at National Museum of Women in the Arts.
You can view more of her work at Art Renewal Centre.
The Jolly Toper, 1629
This painting is at the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem, Netherlands.
Unfortunately the commentary is in Dutch, but with the help of Google Translate, we have produced this abridged version:
"A laughing man is drinking. It is Pekelharing. His name means "salt herring", a Dutch specialty that causes terrible thirst - Pekelharing was a bit of a drunk. Pekelharing was often the subject of paintings, including one by Frans Hals, also painted around 1629. (see below). The Pekelharing of Judith Leyster succumbs to the sin not only of drink but also of tobacco. On the table there is a "burning stove", a pipe, a piece of paper with tobacco and wood shavings. Alcohol and tobacco in those days were seen as major threats to humankind."
If you want to see the original text yourself, go to the museum click on Collection, Search Collection and then drill down to Leyster in the list of artists. Sorry we cannot link directly to this page because of the way their website is set up.
We have also discovered that Pekelharing was the main character in a number of farces.
Toper, of course, means drunk.
You can see a large image of this painting at Art Renewal Centre
Compare Frans Hals version of The Jolly Toper
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