Adriaen van Ostade

Adriaen van Ostade , 1610-85, Dutch genre painter, b. Haarlem. Trained in the studio of Frans Hals , he was strongly influenced by his fellow student Adriaen Brouwer . Van Ostade created good-humored depictions of village and peasant life, in which the figures are lively in expression and action. Later, under the influence of Rembrandt , he used a warmer palette and deeper chiaroscuro (high-contrast) effects. His work after 1650 was refined, the color and light skillfully balanced. In addition to his more than 1,000 oils, van Ostade executed about 50 graphic works and supplied figures for many other artists' landscapes. He is represented in important collections throughout Europe and the United States. Among his many notable works are Peasants in an Inn (The Hague); The Drinker (Louvre); The Smoker (Antwerp); and The Old Fiddler (Metropolitan Mus.). His brother and pupil, Isaak van Ostade, 1621-49, painted at first in close imitation of his brother, but his interest in landscape led to paintings of a more pastoral character. He created many fine winter landscapes.

Ostade, Adriaen van (1610–85). Dutch painter, draughtsman, and etcher, active in his native Haarlem. Although he turned his hand to many subjects, he was principally a genre painter. According to Houbraken, he and Adriaen Brouwer (whose work is similar) were fellow pupils of Frans Hals. Ostade's early pictures depict lively scenes of peasants carousing or brawling in crowded taverns or hovels. In his later works (after c.1650) his peasants learn better manners and the rooms they live in are tidier. These later pictures are lighter in key and more colourful; thus they follow the general trend of Dutch painting around this time. Ostade was successful, prolific, and much imitated. He is said to have taught Jan Steen and his other pupils included his brother Isaak van Ostade (1621–49), who likewise worked in Haarlem. As well as painting genre scenes in the manner of Adriaen, Isaak was an outstanding exponent of the winter landscape, and his early death cut short a career of great promise. Good examples of the work of both brothers are in the National Gallery, London.