Jan Verhaghen
The Woman Drinking
eighteenth century
oil on canvas, 40 x 31.5 cm
M Leuven
The Warm Hand
eighteenth century
oil on canvas, 97.5 x 121 cm
M Leuven
Jan Verhaghen was the older brother of Pieter Verhaghen. Like his brother, he learned the painter’s trade in Antwerp.
Jan moved in with his younger brother and undoubtedly worked on his many commissions. His specialty was the very lifelike depiction of tableware of all kinds and other accessories. Rural interior scenes, peasants playing cards, drinking, eating and smoking, are Jan’s favourite subjects. His interiors are rustic and populated with figures dressed in eighteenth-century fashion. The detailed attention he gives to the accessories and settings sometimes distracts from the scene he is painting. It is this fondness that earned him the nickname “Potteke Verhaghen” (little pot Verhaghen).