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Reading the News at the Weavers' Cottage

1673
Not on view
This scene of a man reading the news surrounded by family and friends within the sunlit confines of a weavers' cottage epitomizes the rustic scenes of peasant life for which Ostade is so well known. Linen weaving, a profession practiced only by men, became the most important and lucrative occupation in Haarlem in the seventeenth century. Ostade celebrated the economic profit brought about by this industry in this outstanding watercolor, an autonomous work of art, and one which remained famous through the eighteenth century.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Reading the News at the Weavers' Cottage
  • Artist: Adriaen van Ostade (Dutch, Haarlem 1610–1685 Haarlem)
  • Date: 1673
  • Medium: Pen and brown ink, watercolor, white heightening, over graphite; framing lines in pen and brown ink and gold
  • Dimensions: 9 5/8 x 7 15/16 in. (24.4 x 20.2 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Lore Heinemann, in memory of her husband, Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann, 1996
  • Object Number: 1997.117.10
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
Mother and Child with a Doll., Adriaen van Ostade Dutch, Pen and brown and black ink, brush and gray-brown wash, over graphite. Incised. Tacked down to paper mount.
Mother and Child with a Doll.
Adriaen van Ostade
1610–85
Soprano Recorder in B, Thomas Coenraet Boekhout Dutch, Ebony, ivory, Dutch
Soprano Recorder in B
Thomas Coenraet Boekhout
ca. 1700
Angel of the Revelation (Book of Revelation, chapter 10), William Blake British, Watercolor, pen and black ink, brush and wash, over traces of graphite
Angel of the Revelation (Book of Revelation, chapter 10)
William Blake
ca. 1803–5
Study of a Standing Peasant, Adriaen van Ostade Dutch, Black and white chalk on blue paper; framing lines in pen and brown ink
Study of a Standing Peasant
Adriaen van Ostade
17th century
Chandelier, Brass
Chandelier
1700–1720

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