Artwork
Singing Man
Singing Man is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Adriaen van Ostade. It is held in the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
As a work of genre art, the subject focuses on a specific, everyday moment of musical performance rather than a historical or mythological narrative.
Adriaen van Ostade's Singing Man is a genre painting that depicts a man actively engaged in singing while holding sheet music. As a work of genre art, the subject focuses on a specific, everyday moment of musical performance rather than a historical or mythological narrative. The composition centers on the solitary figure, emphasizing the act of vocal expression and the presence of the written score as key visual elements.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1700, this genre scene is rendered in oil paint on a panel support. The composition measures 27 cm in height and 23 cm in width. Visually, the work depicts a male figure engaged in singing, with sheet music included as a key descriptive element within the scene.
History & Provenance
Singing Man was painted by Adriaen van Ostade around 1700, as indicated by the work’s inception date. After its creation, the painting entered the collection of Hermann Göring; following World War II it was held at the Munich Central Collecting Point before being transferred to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, where it remains today. The work is executed in oil paint on panel. No specific commission or patronage details are recorded in the available sources.
The painting is held by the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, where it is recorded as inventory number 549.
It was previously identified at the Munich Central Collecting Point after World War II and, prior to that, in the Hermann Göring Collection. The work has not been recorded in any major post-war exhibitions according to available provenance records.
Overview
Adriaen van Ostade’s oil painting titled Singing Man presents a solitary figure engaged in music. Executed around the turn of the eighteenth century, the work measures a modest size typical of genre scenes and is part of the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp.
Artist & collection
Artist
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.
