Barn Interior with Peasants and CowsVerso: Six Studies of Peasants
17th century
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown and gray wash over graphite (recto); pen and brown ink over graphite (verso)
Dimensions
sheet: 7 5/16 x 7 in. (18.5 x 17.8 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1995
Accession Number
1995.198
Tags
Art Historical Context
Isaac van Ostade, a Dutch artist of the Golden Age (1621–1649), captures the humble rhythms of rural life in this intimate 17th-century drawing The recto presents a cozy barn interior alive with peasants tending cows, evoking the everyday toil and camaraderie of farm laborers. These scenes reflect the era's fascination with genre subjects—ordinary folk in their environments—often infused with warmth and subtle humor, much like the works of Ostade's brother, Adriaen. Executed in pen and brown ink with brush and wash over graphite on the recto, and pen and ink over graphite on the verso, the sh...