The Woman Spinning
Medium
Etching in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 13.5 × 17.3 cm (5 3/8 × 6 13/16 in.); Plate: 13.9 × 17.6 cm (5 1/2 × 6 15/16 in.); Sheet: 16.6 × 21.8 cm (6 9/16 × 8 5/8 in.)
Classification
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
15215
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Adriaen van Ostade was a prolific Haarlem painter and etcher of genre scenes that ranged from illustrations of raucous peasant feasts to depictions of working class family life. As an etcher, he was second only to Rembrandt van Rijn in his productivity and the collectability of his work; his prints range from the antic Merrymakers in an Inn (1894.1028) to the calmer Woman Spinning. Even the pigs at the bottom left of this image are lazy observers of the peaceful scene.
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 ...