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CLAES MOLENAER, A VILLAGE STREET WITH A COUNTRY FAIR A VILLAGE STREET WITH A COUNTRY FAIR Signed and dated lower right: Claes Molenaer 1667 and JAN MIENSE MOLENAER circa 1610 Haarlem (?) - 1668 Haarlem The landscape painter Claes Molenaer became a member of the Haarlem guild of Saint Luke in 1651. We know nothing of his education, but his works show that he was heavily influenced by S. van Ruysdael and J. van Goyen, and later by J. van Ruisdael. Whilst Claes Molenaer was definitely the author of the landscape and architectural elements of this work, as the treatment of the trees and houses show the unmistakeable characteristics of his style, it is possible that the genre painter Jan Miense Molenaer was responsible for the figures. This artist, who was also born in Haarlem, could possibly be related to Claes Molenaer, and was certainly friends with him. Claes became the legal guardian of Jan Miense's young son following his death in 1668, and this large scale painting was made a year previously.