Permanent Collection: Works of Art on Paper: Adriaen van Ostade, 1610-1685 Dutch, Rustic Interior with a Man Feeding a Child, 1648. Etching and drypoint. Art History Department Fund. 1971.9 Van Ostade specialized in peasant subjects. Unlike other Dutch artists who specialized in these kinds of scenes, van Ostade treats his humble figures sympathetically rather than satirically. In this image of domesticity, the flexibility of the etching technique allowed him to depict the clutter of the household in great detail and with a careful attention to the variety of textures. The play of light and shadow in the room also demonstrates the infinite range of tones available with the etching needle. In seventeenth Holland only Rembrandt surpassed van Ostade in the quality of his etchings.

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