An elderly couple in an arbour is a fine example of van Ostade’s ability to depict a wide range of human emotion. It belonged to Sir Francis Baring, and was acquired by George IV. The elderly couple appear to be dressed in costume, possibly dating from the sixteenth century, and may therefore be actors. The figures are pushed right to the front of the composition and the sense of privacy is emphasised by containing them within an arbour, behind which can be glimpsed the more public space in front of an inn. The principal figures are well lit, but van Ostade is clever in building up a sense of spatial recession in passing from the well-lit foreground through a middle distance in half-shadow to a lighter background.

The subject of a man encouraging a woman to drink is a familiar one in Dutch art and this painting should be compared with those by ter Borch and Willem van Mieris. In these last the intentions of the man are clearly dishonourable; here the interpretation is more humorous. The rueful smiles of both the figures and the playful way in which the man looks out at the viewer suggest that perhaps age tempers, but not necessarily negates, lust. Van Ostade therefore deploys the usual suggestive sexual symbolism such as the clay pipe and the jug. The woman decorously looks away, holding a glass precariously angled in one hand while - perhaps nervously - breaking off a piece of waffle with the other. The age of the two figures imbues the subject with a sense of pathos. The painting of the glass and the jug is particularly fine in both cases, their curvature being emphasised by the highlights.

Signed lower right corner: 'Av. Ostade' (Av in monogram)

Catalogue entry adapted from Enchanting the Eye: Dutch paintings of the Golden Age, London, 2004