Peasant holding a jug and a pipe

In this exuberant portrait of a peasant, Adrien van Ostade shows his skill at portraying the human condition. The drunken peasant’s sense of mereo is demonstrated by the open drinking jug just at the level of his neck. His big mouth and eyes are moist and glistening, but he is happy. Van Ostade has exposed different textures to achieve a tangible reality: the heavy, shiny earthenware jug, the skin of the hand or the folds in the sleeve. The hair seems to come out of the leather of the hat. The face itself is not just a caricature, it seems flesh and blood with a slack mouth, taut red skin, swollen nose and glowing eyes. We may not know the identity of the sitter, but there can be no doubt that he was a real person.

Collection: Images

Project: 3. Rural world and urban world in the formation of the European identity., 4. Family, daily life and social inequality in Europe.

Chronology: XVII

Scope: Secondary Education, Baccalaureate, University

Link: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/adriaen-van-ostade-a-peasant-holding-a-jug-and-a-pipe

Resource type: Image

Format: Oil on panel (26,8 x 22 cm)

Source: National Gallery of London (Londres)

Language: Spanish

Date: 1650-55

Owner: Álvaro Romero González (Modernalia)