Adriaen Rombouts (c. 1640 – in or after 1670) was a Flemish genre painter active in Brussels in the middle of the 17th century. He is known for his indoor scenes with peasants engaging in play, eating and drinking.[1]
Very little is known about the life of Rombouts. He was likely born sometime around 1640. He became in 1653–1654 a pupil of Joos van Craesbeeck in Brussels.[2] Van Craesbeeck was a prominent genre painter who had trained with Adriaen Brouwer and had moved from Antwerp to Brussels around 1650.[3]
The last known dated work of Rombouts is dated 1670. It is not known when or where the artist died.[1]
Adriaen Rombouts painted scenes with peasants engaging in play, eating and drinking at home or in taverns. He also painted a portrait of the fool of a Brussels chamber of rhetoric.[4]
Some paintings attributed to him are now attributed to other artists. This includes A doctor performing a back operation, watched by country folk (Wellcome Library), which is now attributed to the anonymous Antwerp artist referred to as the Monogrammist H.C.[5]