Antique Oil on Panel Attributed to Jooste Corneliesz Droogsloot (1586-1666)

A woman and her male Companion attributed to Jooste Cornelisz Droogsloot (1586-1666)
This small study is on panel and cut down from a larger painting. It is housed in an antique walnut frame. In very good condition despite its age.

Droogslloot was born and died in Utrecht. He became a member of the Utrecht Guild of Saint Luke in 1616. He later became Deacon of the Guild in 1623 and Regent of the St. Jobs Gasthuis in 1638, Deacon of the Dutch Reformed church, and in 1665 Officer of the Utrecht Schutterij.
He was the father and teacher of the painter Cornelis Droogsloot (1630–1673) whose paintings are hard to distinguish from his own. He stood in the tradition of Flemish landscape painting, particularly of the village scenes as developed by Pieter Brueghel the Elder. His village scenes usually depict a broad village street leading into the distance and houses on both sides. The villages are populated with crowds of coarse peasant figures, dispersed somewhat at random. These figures are individualised and depicted in expressive poses. Droogssloot paid a lot of attention to the details in his compositions. His village scenes often carried a moral message. He had a preference for a reddish-brown palette.
The name Droogsloot is also spelt Droochsloot.

The painting itself measures 10.5cm X 11cm.
The frame measures 20cm X 18.5cm