Adriaen van Ostade

Etcher

Haarlem 1610 – Haarlem 1684

Adriaen van Ostade's entire etched oeuvre includes about fifty examples of etchings and puntescae, which are remarkably valued in the context of 17th-century Flemish art. Already devoted to painting, he experimented with engraving techniques only after 1636, mainly executing the same subjects that we find in his paintings and that for their particular nature have been widely appreciated by collectors and lovers of antique prints: in fact, the Master loved to depict scenes taken from everyday life, portraits of humble people, dances, and family atmospheres. Of the prints made by the artist, many of which were drawn up to the whole of the 18th century, numerous states are often known; as in Rembrandt's graphic work, in van Ostade's etchings there is a habit of working out different states for each individual subject. The meticulous quest to achieve artistic perfection, especially in the rendering of tonal effects, prompted the artist to make slight modifications to the plates, adding subtle and sometimes imperceptible strokes for the purpose of giving greater expressiveness to the portraits or making the shadows more intense. The changes were not such as to distort the chiaroscuro pattern previously achieved, however they contributed to the achievement of a more painterly effect characterized by intense tones. The first major collector of van Ostade's work was Abbot Michel de Marolles, whose entire collection now forms the core of the collection preserved at the Prints Cabinet of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Two fine editions of the Dutch master's complete works were completed during the 18th century, in 1710 in 1780, respectively. In both cases, the plates underwent several retouches, often slight but sometimes such that the original features were inevitably altered. Following the death of van Ostade's widow, at whose behest a third edition of the works was published, the artist's branches dispersed, a fate that also befell those of Cornelis Bega and Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn.