1655
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
The fiddler and the hurdy-gurdy boy is a 1655 by Adriaen van Ostade, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This sketch shows a small group of people gathered outside a rustic wooden building. A man plays a fiddle while others sit or stand around him, some holding instruments or looking on. The scene feels lively but quiet, with a barrel and a tree framing the group. The artist pays close attention to how light and shadow shape faces and clothes, giving the scene depth. This style was common in Dutch art of the time. Next, check out Baroque to see more works that use bold light and shadow like this one.
Adriaen van Ostade (baptized as Adriaen Jansz Hendricx 10 December 1610 – buried 2 May 1685) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of genre works, showing the everyday life of ordinary men and women.
See the richer artist page
