Afternoon Snack in a Farmhouse

In a simple Dutch home, a weary peasant rests from his work with a hot cup and bread. Such scenes depicting the lives of peasants were prized in the 19th-century Netherlands, when increasing industrialization led to longing for a simpler time. The wife pours herself a cup while the family dog looks on attentively; she has already started the family dinner which cooks at left.

A student of the Belgian royal art academy at Antwerp, Albert Neuhuys spent most of his career in his native Netherlands. His work took him to many cities, though he lived longest in the Hague. In the mid-1880s he began to visit the town of Laren, where he met Anton Mauve. Though trained as a history painter, he preferred humble subjects of daily life. He was also an etcher and lithographer.