Dicing, Drabbing and Drinking Bring Man to Destruction

Adriaen van de Venne specialized in literary subjects. His monochrome paintings were known as grisailles, or ‘grauwtjes’. He clarified the moralistic theme of the painting by inscribing the title in a scroll. ‘Goet-gelach’ can mean to laugh heartily or a gay entertainment. For their contemporary audience, such folk scenes were undoubtedly a reference to human vices.