# Circle Dance

- By: David Teniers the Younger (Flemish, 1610-1690)
- Date: 1635/68
- Medium: Etching in black on cream laid paper
- Classification: Print
- Dimensions: 10.4 × 13.3 cm (4 1/8 × 5 1/4 in.)
- Culture: Flanders
- Credit line: The Wallace L. DeWolf and Joseph Brooks Fair Collections
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/80244)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/9892f770-a84a-4d1e-099e-b86e0ccdcc77/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

The Antwerp artist David Teniers the Younger specialized in scenes of merrymaking peasants, a staple of Flemish art since the mid-16th century. Although many of his peasant scenes include a huge cast of characters, this etching depicts a more intimate gathering. Two couples have joined together in a circle, spinning and kicking their heels in the air. In this period, bagpipers often stood on barrels when playing for large crowds, but here the musician sits beside a companion. Teniers’s loose, seemingly nonchalant style fits well with this humble but animated subject matter.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0