Peasant with Stick
1610–85
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 in. × 2 3/8 in. (7.6 × 6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1951
Accession Number
51.501.478
Tags
Art Historical Context
Adriaen van Ostade's *Peasant with Stick*, an etching from his active years (1610–1685), captures the essence of Dutch Golden Age genre art in a remarkably intimate scale—measuring just 3 × 2⅜ inches. Van Ostade, a master printmaker and painter from Haarlem, specialized in lively depictions of rural peasants, often infusing his works with humor, grit, and keen observation of everyday life. small print likely portrays a weathered laborer gripping a simple stick, evoking the hardships and resilience of 17th-century Dutch countryside folk amid the prosperous Republic's economic boom. Etching, va...
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 ...