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This painting represents an example of the changes in Molenaer's art after his arrival in Amsterdam from Haarlem. He increased the number of figures that populate his paintings while decreasing their scale vis-à-vis the overall dimensions of the support. The figures in The King Drinks recall those of Brouwer and Adriaen van Ostade, the subject itself, relating to traditional Twelfth Night or Epiphany celebrations is drawn from Flemish art. Painted representations of the subject first appeared in Flanders in the late sixteenth century and enjoyed great popularity there during the 1630s and 1640s under the artistic leadership of Jacob Jordaens and David Teniers the Younger.
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