1649
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
The Smoker at the Window is a 1649 by Adriaen van Ostade, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This is a black-and-white etching of a man leaning out a window, smoking a pipe. He’s bundled up in a big coat and hat, looking sideways with a serious face. Behind him, you can see a simple room with a curtain and a bed, plus a few trees outside. The artist used strong contrasts between light and dark to make the man’s face and clothes stand out. This style was common in the 1600s to draw attention to certain parts of the picture. Next, check out chiaroscuro to see how this technique works in other art.
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
