Quack Doctor Presenting his Potions to a Group of Bystanders

1648

Adriaen van Ostade

Associated Names
Adriaen van Ostade

Artist, Dutch, 1610 - 1685

The image shows a group of people at a marketplace. Five individuals are visible, with four fully shown and one turning towards the viewer. The central figure stands behind a covered barrel, surrounded by others. One person is bending forward with a basket, and a child stands in the foreground facing the central figure. The person on the far right holds a long object, possibly a stick or sword, and is dressed in a cloak and hat. The individuals are dressed in long robes and hats, suggesting a rural setting. In the background, there are tents and trees, depicting an outdoor trading scene under foliage. The image is in black and white.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching, with touches of drypoint, on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 15 × 12.4 cm (5 7/8 × 4 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.8313

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein, no. 18, State i/x

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

D'Arenberg Collection, Brussels and Westphalila (Lugt 567); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA (Lugt 1932d and 1760b), 1928; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Bibliography

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. 43, i/ix.

1990

  • Godefroy, Louis. The Complete Etchings of Adriaen van Ostade. San Francisco, 1990: no. 43, i/ix.

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. 18, i/x.

Inscriptions

in plate, within image at bottom left: Av ostade 1648; verso, top right, in graphite by a later hand: E E 699; bottom center, in graphite by a later hand: 128

Wikidata ID

Q65018507

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