PHILIPS WOUVERMAN, (Haarlem, The Netherlands, 1619-1668)."Peasant scene".Oil on panel. Hemmed.Attached a photocopy of the certificate of authenticity issued by Dr. Shumacher, in 2014.Signed with initials in the lower left corner.Measurements: 46 x 63 cm; 64 x 81 cm (frame).This work combines two of the main genres developed in Holland during the Baroque period: landscape and genre painting. On the other hand, the Italian influence that marked Wouverman so much is evident, especially in the lyrical and unreal atmosphere that envelops an otherwise totally naturalistic scene. The figures are placed in the foreground, with the foreground figures standing out for their coloring; nowhere else in the painting do we see the reds and blues of this foreground, although they are enveloped by the ochers and silvers that dominate the composition, and which are in fact Wouverman's most typical chromatic ranges. Behind this foreground we see a typical house of the area, surrounded by vegetation (perhaps as a nod to the ruins of the Italian landscape), in front of which stand several characters, two of them on horseback, a frequent animal in the painting of this author. After these close-ups, behind the road that runs in an oblique line, a landscape of great depth develops, almost completely flat, worked in more neutral, delicate and transparent tones, reflecting with naturalism the cold atmosphere of the moment.Philips Wouverman was the son of a modest painter from Alkmaar, Paul-Joosten Wouverman, and became one of the most renowned painters of religious compositions, military, landscapes and animals, especially horses, as well as a genre painter focused on the elegant life of the time and its historical framework (castles, palaces, gardens, etc.). Wouverman's initiation as a painter must have taken place in his father's workshop and also in that of Frans Hals, according to references of the time, although his works do not reveal the influence of this painter. He joined the painters' guild of St. Luke in 1642, and at that time he began a prolific career marked by commercial success. He was not a painter of large commissions, but worked on easel paintings of great beauty and intimacy, for which he had all the nobility as clients. He also had buyers abroad and, apart from enjoying great success in his time, he gained special esteem in the France of Louis XVI and in the Spain of Charles IV. In fact, the paintings by his hand that are now in the Prado come from the Royal Palace. In addition, today we can find works by Wouverman in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Louvre in Paris, the Metropolitan and the Frick Collection in New York, the National Gallery, the Wallace and the Royal Collection in London, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, among many others.