Peasant Family Entertained by a Fiddler with a Hunchback

c. 1652

Adriaen van Ostade

Associated Names
Adriaen van Ostade

Artist, Dutch, 1610 - 1685

The image shows a street scene with a bustling family gathering outside a rustic building. A group of people are near the entrance of a house. Two adults are talking while another adult watches a child playing with a hoop. The stone structure appears aged, with detailed etching lines showing texture. The architecture includes diamond-pane windows and an arched entryway. In the distance, a tower and foliage can be seen. The etching uses intricate line work, shading, and cross-hatching for depth and texture. The monochromatic color palette enhances the details and creates a vintage atmosphere.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Gebel

  • Dimensions

    plate: 16.3 × 11.4 cm (6 7/16 × 4 1/2 in.)
    sheet: 17.1 × 12.4 cm (6 3/4 × 4 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1974.112.4

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein, no. 24, State ii/iv

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Paul and Frida Gebel, Arlington, VA; gift to NGA, 1974.

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. 44, vi/vi.

1990

  • Godefroy, Louis. The Complete Etchings of Adriaen van Ostade. San Francisco, 1990: no. 44, vi/vi.

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. 24, ii/iv.

Inscriptions

in plate, within image at lower left: A. v. ostade.; bottom of sheet, in graphite by a later hand: D. 44 [other illegible inscription]; verso, bottom right, in graphite by a later hand: B27958

Wikidata ID

Q65564325

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