Czére Andrea szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 104. (Budapest, 2006)
ZOLTÁN KOVÁCS: "The Witty Pieter Quast": The Works of an Amsterdam Master in Hungary Then and Now
endure serious pain. The wife of the injured man anxiously observes the events. In the leit-hand foreground, a young boy, the doctor's assistant, bends over a low small table, on which a wet dish, a jar of medication and a jug are visible. Above the heads of the characters, similar utensils line on a shelf. To the right in the background, two figures appear, who talk secretly, either shuddering or shocked (?). This picture of satirical tone engages well with Quast's series of genre paintings, in which we often find the characteristic figure of the provincial doctor, the village quack or charlatan. As an example, we might mention the panel painting depicting a foot operation in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, 41 the painting entitled A Tavern interior with Peasants and Charlatan in the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, 4-' The Stone Operation at the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum in Aachen, 43 or the painting entitled Doctor and Patient, put on auction a few years ago in New York. 44 In these works, Quast primarily pillories human stupidity and gullibility by way of the generally fraudulent figure of the provincial doctor. —We know from written sources that Quast was familiar firsthand with tavern conflicts, peasant bickering and also the activity of provincial doctors. 41 The piece that was in the Faragó collection is a good example of Quast's method of representing an image. The picture visibly draws on a number of sources: naturally, first and foremost, Brouwer was the model in the choice of subjects; he painted the Back Operation (De rugoperatie) on a number of occasions. 46 Quast borrowed from him some figures for the main group, with smaller or bigger changes. 4 ' The other source, in the present case, was David Teniers the Younger, from whom he borrowed the elements of the interior space serving as the location for the scene, the shelf seen in the background and the utensils appearing on it, as in a still life, as well as the pair emerging in the neighbouring place on the right-hand side of the picture, and finally the motif of the lounging dog in the foreground. 48 Among the potential models, one might further mention Cornells Saftleven's composition dated to 1636 and entitled PIETER QUAST, NIGHT ROUND. FORMERLY BUDAPEST. ÖDÖN FARAGÓ COLLECTION (ARCHIVE PHOTO)
