Pieter Balten

Baltens, Peeter
Baltens, Pieter
Custodis, Pieter

Flemish, active 1540 - 1598

Explore selected works

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.
Pieter Balten, Hieronymus Cock, The Dissolute Household, engraving on laid paper, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1973.59.1

The Dissolute Household

Pieter Balten, Hieronymus Cock · · engraving on laid paper ·  Accession ID  1973.59.1

This is a drawing of an interior scene with several figures engaged in various activities. The setting features a room populated with furniture and tools associated with cobbling or leatherwork, suggesting a workshop environment. There are children present causing a commotion, one riding a barrel-like object, another with a basket on their head, and a third interacting with an adult figure at the center who is crafting or carving a shoe. An distracted adult figure leans against a bench on the left. Tools and shoes hang from the walls. Detailed hatching and lines give depth and texture to the scene. The upper region features a smaller inset with an adult figure sitting by a window with a contemplative expression. The style suggests detailed early modern engravings, capturing both chaos and craftsmanship.
Pieter Balten, Hieronymus Cock, The Dissolute Household, engraving on laid paper, Rosenwald Collection, 1943.3.1449

The Dissolute Household

Pieter Balten, Hieronymus Cock · · engraving on laid paper ·  Accession ID  1943.3.1449