Violin Player Seated in the Inn
1685
Medium
Etching in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 28 × 25.1 cm (11 1/16 × 9 15/16 in.); Sheet: 30.3 × 27 cm (11 15/16 × 10 11/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
32703
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Cornelis Dusart and his teacher Adriaen van Ostade both delighted in rustic portrayals of peasant life. This etching is a variation on a popular theme: peasants carousing inside or in front of an inn. It portrays old and young alike enjoying the jovial melodies of itinerant fiddlers, and contains a wealth of anecdotal detail, such as the child’s socks drying near the fireplace. But while Ostade employs quirky lines with bold contrasts of light and dark, Dusart uses smaller, more densely placed m...
About the Artist
Cornelis Dusart · 1660–1704
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...