Peasant Couple in a Doorway
c. 1652
Medium
etching, with touches of drypoint, on laid paper
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed irregularly to plate mark): 16 × 12.7 cm (6 5/16 × 5 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.8293
Art Historical Context
Step into the intimate world of 17th-century Dutch rural life with *Peasant Couple in a Doorway*, etching by Adriaen Ostade, created around 1652. Van Ostade, a master the Dutch Golden Age genre, specialized in vivid portrayals of peasants and everyday folk, often infusing his works with warmth, humor, and keen observation. This small print (just 16 × 12.7 cm) captures a tender moment of a couple framed in their modest doorway, highlighting the humanity of the lower classes during a prosperous era when such subjects elevated ordinary life to high art. Van Ostade's etching technique, enriched w...
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 ...