Two Gossips
1610–85
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Plate: 4 1/16 × 3 9/16 in. (10.3 × 9 cm) Sheet: 4 5/8 × 4 1/16 in. (11.7 × 10.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Harry Brisbane Dick Fund, 1926
Accession Number
25.75.76
Tags
Art Historical Context
Adriaen van Ostade *Two Gossips* (c. 1670s), a delicate etching from the Dutch Golden, captures an intimate moment of everyday camaraderie. This small print (plate: 4 1/16 × 3 9/16 in.) depicts two men locked in animated conversation, their expressive faces and gesturing hands brimming with humor and character. Van Ostade (1610–1685), a master of genre scenes, specialized in portraying the lively world of peasants and villagers, drawing from the boisterous tavern life of 17th-century Holland. Etching allowed van Ostade to achieve fine lines and rich tonal effects, mimicking the spontaneity of...
About the Artist
Adriaen van Ostade · 1610–1685
Adriaen Jansz. van Ostade (1610-1685) was a Dutch Baroque painter and printmaker who specialized in genre scenes of peasant life. Born and raised in Haarlem, he became one of the most prolific and celebrated artists of the Dutch Golden Age, producing over 800 paintings, 50 etchings, and numerous drawings. Van Ostade's significance in art history lies in his masterful depiction of peasant life, a ...