Adriaen Jansz. van Ostade

Lawyer with a Letter or Document  in his Study

Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam
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Lawyer with a Letter or Document in his Study, Adriaen van Ostade

Adriaen van OSTADE
Haarlem 1610 - Haarlem 1685

Born in Haarlem and baptized on 10 December 1610, Adriaen van Ostade is said to have been a pupil of Frans Hals. But his earlier works more strikingly resemble those of Adriaen Brouwer while his later ones show the influence of Rembrandt. He specialized in scenes of peasant life, often comical, occasionally grotesque, but in principle intended to show, like Bruegel's canvases, the condition of mankind. By the middle of the century, his work became more respectable. Van Ostade's output was vast, and he was well-to-do and respected in his community. He was dean of the Haarlem guild in 1662. In 1657 he was converted to Catholicism and married a wealthy Catholic woman from Amsterdam. He died in Haarlem and was buried there on 2 May 1685.

from:
The Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer, John Nash, London, 1972