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Frans Hals Dutch, c. 1582/1583 - 1666 Adriaen van Ostade, 1646/1648 oil on canvas, 94 x 75 cm (37 x 29 1/2 in.) Andrew W. Mellon Collection 1937.1.70 |
Object 5 of 7
Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685) specialized in painting scenes of country peasants such as The Cottage Dooryard in the Gallery's collection. Before entering Haarlem's guild of artists in 1634, Ostade probably had been Frans Hals' pupil. This painting bears a strong resemblance to a self-portrait by Ostade and also appears to be the model for an engraved print titled as representing Ostade. The occasion for this commission may have been Ostade's election in 1647 as a head of the guild.
Hals depicted his fellow artist as a refined gentleman wearing fashionable apparel denoting professional success. Gloves, for example, were an essential feature of seventeenth-century social decorum. Ostade has removed the glove from his right hand, the one used in greeting. His bare right palm, open to the viewer, reinforces his forthrightness.
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