Two Peasant Women Conversing on a Village Street

c. 1652

Adriaen van Ostade

Associated Names
Adriaen van Ostade

Artist, Dutch, 1610 - 1685

The image depicts two elderly women standing and facing each other. They appear to be engaged in conversation, with one woman slightly leaning forward while the other stands upright. Both women have their heads covered with scarves, and their facial features are drawn with detailed lines, suggesting age with noticeable wrinkles. Their hair is not visible due to the head coverings. They are dressed in long coats and skirts, typical of an older, traditional style of clothing. There seem to be no visible jewelry items on either woman, and each holds a shawl or cloak wrapped around themselves. The setting is an outdoor street scene with trees and buildings as a backdrop. There are additional figures in the background, contributing to the rustic and communal feel of the scene. The area looks cobblestoned and quaint with a rural ambiance.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching, with touches of drypoint, on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    plate: 10.3 × 9 cm (4 1/16 × 3 9/16 in.)
    sheet: 11.2 × 10.1 cm (4 7/16 × 4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.8312

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein, no. 31, State iii/iii


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Victor Sieger [1824-1905], Munich (Lugt 2377); (sale 41, Hollstein & Puppel, Berlin, 6 May 1929, no. 568); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA (Lugt 1932d and 1760b), 1929; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1930

  • Godefroy, Louis. L'Oeuvre gravée de Adriaen van Ostade. Paris, 1930: no. 40, v/v.

1949

  • Hollstein, F.W.H. et al. Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts, ca. 1450-1700. 72 vols. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberger, 1964; vol. XV, no. 40, v/v.

1993

  • The New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, 1450-1700. (Adriaen van Ostade, Paolo Giordani and Jaco Rutgers, authors). Ouderkerk aan den Ijssel: Sound & Vision Publishers, 2023: no. 31, iii/iii.

Inscriptions

in plate, within image at lower left: Av. ostade; lower left, in graphite by a later hand: B. 40.; verso, left center, in graphite by a later hand: B. 40 / W. 40 II; center, in graphite by a later hand: F 40 / [illegible script]; lower left, in graphite by a later hand: N26 [illegible script]; bottom right, in graphite by a later hand: 568

Wikidata ID

Q65018506

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