Old painting of a rural scene, oil on canvas, Northern Europe '800

Oil on canvas. Northern European school of the 19th century. The painting is a reproduction of a work from 1662 by Jan Siberechts (1627–1703), currently housed in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. The Flemish painter made a name for himself with his scenes of countryside and rural life, animated by figures of peasants engaged in their daily activities, particularly robust female figures dressed in bright colours. These characteristics are also evident in this reproduction, where, in the courtyard of a farm in the countryside, the whole family is busy with various activities: on the left, a man is unloading bundles of wood from the cart, which a woman is carrying towards the house; on the right, a boy is opening the stable to lead the flock of goats and sheep to pasture; in the centre are three robust female figures, namely two women observing the third, who is busy... Combing a little girl’s hair! The colours of the characters' clothing stand out vividly against the brown and dark tones of the background elements (the house and the countryside), dominated by a similarly dark sky filled with grey clouds. The painting is presented in a period gold frame.