Study of a Seated Peasant

Study of a Seated Peasant by Cornelis Dusart

Medium

Black and red chalk on beige paper; framing lines in pen and brown ink

Dimensions

10 1/2 x 7 11/16 in. (26.7 x 19.5 cm)

Classification

Drawings

Department

Drawings and Prints

Museum

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Credit

Gift of Harold K. Hochschild, 1940

Accession Number

40.91.13

Tags

Men

Art Historical Context

Cornelis Dusart, a artist active in the late 17th century, this intimate *Study of a Seatedasant* as a preparatory, likely capturing the humble dignity of rural life during the Dutch Golden Age. Though undated, it reflects Dusart's interest in genre subjects—everyday folk rendered with empathetic realism, echoing influences from masters like Rembrandt. The seated male figure, simply posed, invites viewers to ponder the quiet narratives of ordinary people in an era of prosperous trade and social observation. Executed in black and red chalk on beige paper, with subtle framing lines in pen and b...

About the Artist

Cornelis Dusart · 16601704

Cornelis Dusart (1660–1704) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and printmaker who stands as one of the most important continuators of the peasant genre tradition established by Adriaen van Ostade in Haarlem. Born in Haarlem, Dusart entered Van Ostade's workshop as a pupil and assistant, a relationship that proved formative in every respect. He so thoroughly absorbed his master's approach — the depi...

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