Peasant with a glass jug
1850
oil
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1850
oil
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Peasant with a glass jug is a 1850 oil by Unknown, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
A peasant in a brown hat and red jacket looks out from the painting, holding a small empty glass jug. This painting is interesting because it seems to be inspired by older works, like mezzotint engravings from the 1600s. The peasant's expression and pose are key to the painting. To learn more about similar uses of light and shadow, look into the technique of chiaroscuro.
A grinning peasant wearing a brown hat and red jacket looks outward from the painting while holding a small empty glass jug in his right hand. The work appears to draw on a series of 17th-century mezzotint engravings by Abraham Blooteling after designs by Petrus Staverenus, which depicted the five senses as peasants. A pendant painting in the same collection represents "Hearing," while other known engravings in the series depict "Sight," "Smell," and "Touch." The painting was bequeathed to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1864.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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