Chances are that you, like me, are not familiar with Dutch artist Pieter Jansz. Quast (1605/6–1647). I happened to come across Quast while looking for early 17th-century dance images. Little is known about the life of this painter, draughtsman, and sculptor except that he lived in Amsterdam, travelled to The Hague, was married, and financially unsuccessful.

Quast was a very talented artist. He used a variety of motifs, including low-life scenes, guardroom scenes, and merry companies. He was equally skilled in portraits and historical pieces. Quast was an astute observer. His images could be serious, caricatural, humorous, or bitingly sarcastic. Quast is also remembered for his large collection of drawings that focused on the five senses, peasant life, the theatre and fools. His work was influenced, both in theme and artistic style, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder as well as his contemporaries Adriaen Brouwer, Adriaen van Ostade, and Adriaen van den Venne. His merry companies reflect the impact of fellow artists Pieter Codde and Willem Duyster.

Quast’s piece, Peasants in an Inn, is gloomy; even the white of the caps and aprons suffer under the subdued light. A brown hue overrides the entire work. The other hues, including blue and red, make very little impression. The light, you have noticed, falls mainly on the principal characters. The man standing to the left is but a mere shadow. Likewise, the musician seated on the ladder is practically indiscernible. Quast, similar to his contemporaries Brouwer and van Ostade, presents the peasant as an unrefined, uncouth figure. He highlights their exaggerated grimaces and coarse demeanour, making his figures caricatures of rustic life.

In this low-life scene, Quast depicts a group of men drinking, smoking, and playing a card game at a local tavern. Another figure blatantly relieves herself; her bare bottom is in full view. All the while, she watches a group of four rustics prancing in a circular formation. The dance is not especially exciting; men and women hold hands while stepping sideways and kicking their legs forward. As common in early Dutch and Flemish art, the movements of peasant dancers are depicted as heavy, cumbersome, and ungainly; this description is not applicable to the elegant dancers portrayed in the painting below.

The themes of Peasants in an Inn and Elegant Company are worlds apart. The rough peasants frolicking in an inn have made way for refined figures relaxing in a musical ambiance. The exaggerated grimaces of the former are replaced by the fine facial features of the elite, and the murky-tinted rags worn by the rustics have been exchanged for silk and taffeta attire. Quast’s artistic method is more consistent. In Elegant Company, similar to Peasants in an Inn, the background is depicted in brown hues; the figures, on the other hand, wear garments shown in more vibrant tones. Both works, nonetheless, demonstrate Quast’s skill at illustrating texture; the dense, muted fabrics of the rustics are just as accomplished as the silky-smooth finish of the ladies’ robes.

There are three figures that demand the viewer’s immediate attention: an elegant couple and a sophisticated lady holding a letter. The latter glances directly, though dubiously, at the audience. Does this have something to do with the content of the letter? The elegant dancing lady is definitely intrigued. She and her partner, as one would expect, are meticulously attired, well poised, and stylish. Quast gives little indication about their dance movements, but based on the tranquil demeanour of the lutenist, I would say that the choreography is uncomplicated, leisurely, and that the dancers use little space.

In contrast to the composed dancers in the painting above, the dancers in the following images are vivacious. The left etching shows a fisherman dancing with his girlfriend. The pair, though facing the same direction, stand directly behind one another. The boy leans slightly forward, extends his arms back to grasp his partner’s hands, and turns his head around. This dance hold is not a particularly easy stance. The pair execute very basic steps, limiting themselves to steps, hops, and low kicks. Quast’s drawing concentrates entirely on the dancing figures. The background, save for a minute construction in the distance, offers no information as to content or context. All that we can ascertain is that they are lively dancers, so lively in fact, that I fear that the girl might lose one of her shoes in the process.

The hurdy-gurdy player was a familiar figure in The Low Countries. He was a welcome guest in the taverns and often played music in the villages and towns. However, the pencil drawing Hurdy-gurdy Player and Dancing Child presents a puzzle. The young dancer is performing a movement not traditionally associated with dance in The Low Countries. The crouched position where the dancer has all his weight on the supporting foot is typically a Slavic folk dance step. Quast’s youngster squats and simultaneously thrusts one leg forward after the other. To retain one’s balance, a dancer must continually interchange the legs at a brisk tempo. The arms are generally held close to the body. Keeping in mind that this movement is more ‘Cossack’ than Netherlandish, one wonders where Quast, who never journeyed beyond Amsterdam and The Hague, encountered such a performer. I can merely speculate that Quast must have seen a troupe of wandering entertainers. These professionals performed acrobatics and extraordinary feats in the town square. Quast had a strong interest in theatre and street artists. His fascination with street theatre might have inspired him to create this delicate drawing that combines a traditional folk musician with a youngster performing a dance style unfamiliar to Dutch audiences.

I understand that, in the following images, I am stretching the definition of ‘dance’ far beyond conventional forms. The dancing fools depicted below are not traditional dancers but figures that move and caper in an eccentric manner. Quast made many drawings, including various series depicting fools. Some, like the vomiting fool and the fool with a dripping nose, are grotesque, but all are delightfully amusing.

Quast has adopted, it seems, a set format for these dancing figures. The four drawings – two fools, one jester, and a dancing farmer – while each a distinct figure, share several common traits. All the grimaces are bizarre, and the movements are exaggerated. Every ‘dancer’ positions himself on a slightly flexed knee, bearing his full weight on a supporting foot. He balances solely on the forefoot. Each figure lifts one bent leg to slightly below hip height. To complete the picture, the dancer’s upper body leans forward from the hips, propelling his buttocks backward.

Quast distinguishes the figures through their costumes, attributes, facial expressions, and the unique positioning of the arms and upper torsos. The dancing fool (upper left) pokes his head well forward, thrusts his elbows backward, and flaps his hands. The character donning a fool’s cap looks awfully mischievous, and I particularly like the jester who has an elegant bird resting on his head. I dare not imagine what the bird is up to. Of the four figures, the farmer is the most exuberant dancer. Is he turning toward another character? Has he just landed from a jump? We can merely guess at his movements, but he is undoubtedly an ardent mover; he twists his torso energetically and propels his leg into the air with similar zest. His determined shoulder and arm movements, but most especially his cheeky expression, suggest that he is showing off to his companions. By capturing this dancing figure in an impulsive off-balance position, Quast demonstrates energetic locomotion.

The engraver Pieter Nolpe (c. 1613–1652) engraved many of Quast’s original designs. Nolpe is primarily recognised for his etchings and engravings. In addition to his own works, he replicated the creations of several artists, including Rubens, Berchem, Potter, and Quast. The print below, based on an original design by Quast, was engraved by Nolpe.

While the previously mentioned dancing fools, jesters, and peasants are depicted from a side perspective, this peasant couple is presented from a more frontal view. The man is slightly rotated towards his partner, but the woman faces directly to the front, enabling the viewer a clear impression of their dance actions. Drawings of female dancers are not common in Quast’s work. He created some caricatures depicting dancing old bags, but the peasant woman is an exception. This spirited woman sways her hips back and forth, shows definite momentum, and, similar to her partner, raises her leg briskly.

I mentioned that drawings of female dancers are uncommon. I was fortunate to discover a charming drawing of a young girl dancing. She is shown, as many of Quast’s figures are, in profile. Her skirt swings freely, which can only indicate that she is either hopping or skipping. The drawing focuses entirely on the dancer. She dances against a blank background; the only exceptions are some subtle shading and a darker patch to indicate the girl’s shadow. The small but dainty drawing stands in stark contrast to the exaggerated, comical, and bizarre figures, so common in Quast’s work.

Salomon Savery (1594–1683) engraved the following two images, both original designs by Quast. These two dancing figures are part of a twelve print collection illustrating peasant life. Savery regularly collaborated with Quast.

You could jocularly name the characters shown in the above prints ‘the mean’ and ‘the friendly’. Both figures bear daggers, but I would definitely rather encounter the farmer with the drinking vessel than the nasty character who gazes distrustfully at his audience. Quast has created two amusing characters, each with striking personalities. More intriguingly, he differentiates the figures’ individual traits through their distinct body language. The disagreeable man possesses a hunched posture, with rounded shoulders and a curved back. The pleasant farmer is lively, has broad, open shoulders, and raises his gaze upward. Both have a comparable leg stance that, although similar, is fundamentally distinct. The closed stance of the unpleasant figure with the bent leg nearly locked at the knee sharply contrasts with the cheerful farmer whose leg swings freely in the open space.

Quast, in contrast to Rembrandt, Vermeer, or Jan Steen, is not a household name. His extensive oeuvre, however, is remarkable. His work embraced a large range of themes; in this post I have merely discussed his dance and theatrical images. Fortunately, many of his original drawings still exist, and various other works have been preserved through the engravers such as Nolpe and Savery. *

*The website of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, features many works by Pieter Jansz. Quast. Click on the following link to see the work Pieter Jansz. Quast and his collaborators.