Hurdy-Gurdy Player in a Tall Hat
Medium
etching, with touches of drypoint, on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 11 × 9.5 cm (4 5/16 × 3 3/4 in.) sheet: 13 × 11.5 cm (5 1/8 × 4 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.8321
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 17th-century peasant life with Adriaen van Ostade'sHurdy-Gurdy in a Tall Hat*1647). This intimate etching captures a street musician cranking his hurdy-gurdy—a stringed instrument that produced drone-like music popular among itinerant performers—while sporting an oversized, comical hat. Van Ostade a master of the Dutch Age genre scene, delighted in depicting the everyday joys and quirks of rural folk, drawing from the realist tradition of Rembrandt, his early teacher. Rendered in etching with subtle drypoint touches on laid paper, the work showcases van Ostade's...
About the Artist
Adriaen van Ostade · 1610–1685
Adriaen Jansz. van Ostade (1610-1685) was a Dutch Baroque painter and printmaker who specialized in genre scenes of peasant life. Born and raised in Haarlem, he became one of the most prolific and celebrated artists of the Dutch Golden Age, producing over 800 paintings, 50 etchings, and numerous drawings. Van Ostade's significance in art history lies in his masterful depiction of peasant life, a ...