The Dissolute Household

Pieter Balten

Associated Names
Pieter Balten

Artist, Flemish, active 1540 - 1598

Hieronymus Cock

Publisher, Netherlandish, 1518 - 1570

This is a drawing of an interior scene featuring fantastical elements and domestic activity. The image presents a busy, cluttered room filled with various characters engaged in different activities. In the foreground, several small figures are energetically engaged in tasks such as carrying baskets and playing. A seated figure on the left looks contemplative or exhausted as a child leans on them. In the background, adults are working on different trades, with one figure mending or crafting shoes at a bench. Another figure appears to be managing the chaos. The walls carry hung shoes and a framed artwork depicting a narrative scene. The floor is patterned with tiles, and there is an air of a workshop or domestic setting, as indicated by the tools and items scattered around. The image is richly detailed.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    plate: 20.4 × 28.2 cm (8 1/16 × 11 1/8 in.)
    sheet: 23.6 × 32.1 cm (9 5/16 × 12 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1973.59.1

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Hollstein, no. 5


Artwork history & notes

Bibliography

1949

  • Hollstein, F.W.H. et al. German engravings, etchings and woodcuts ca. 1400-1700. 8 vols. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberger, 1954-1868. Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts, ca. 1450-1700. Vols. I-XV, XVIII, XIX. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberge

Wikidata ID

Q65576226

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