The Bitter Potion, ca. 1636 – 1638

About the Work

An artist highly appreciated by Rubens, Brouwer worked in Antwerp from 1631 until his premature death. This half-length painting of a crudely dressed young man probably dates from Brouwer’s final years and is one of his most important works. The young man has obviously just taken some bitter medicine, for his contorted face expresses deep and utter disgust. In this representation of the sense of taste, Brouwer departs markedly from pictorial tradition: taste was normally symbolised by figures eating savoury foods.