Lot 187: PIETER BARTOLOMEUSZ. BARBIERS (1772-1837) SCENE OF UPROAR IN A SCHOOLROOM.

Bears signature: Pr. Barbiers de jonge. Gouache and watercolour. 239 by 332 mm. We are very grateful to Robert Jan te Rijdt for suggesting to which of the various artists named P. Barbiers this gouache should be attributed. Drs. te Rijdt also kindly informs us that two comparable signed gouaches of genre scenes by the artist, are in the Stadelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt (inv. 1245 and 1246). The dominant theme of this composition seems to be 'crime and punishment': the little boy approaching the teacher's desk is about to have his hand smacked with a wooden spoon, while the boy in the red hat standing in the corner is being mocked for bed-wetting. Despite the bedlam depicted here, standards of infant education in eighteenth century Holland were in fact amongst the highest in Europe.