Adriaen van Ostade
Shown from about the hips up, a man with peachy skin, wearing an ink-black hat and coat with a bright white collar, looks out at us against a dark background in this vertical portrait painting. He stands with his body angled to our right and his face turned to look at us with dark gray eyes. His slim face is framed in long, brown curls under his tall, brimmed hat, which is cocked a little to our right, away from us. He has a straight, prominent nose, lightly flushed cheeks, and a wispy, light brown mustache above a small, pointed goatee under his lower lip. His neck is encased in a broad, starched, white linen collar, its wings lying along his collarbones. His velvety black coat has a row of tightly spaced buttons down the front. A cummerbund or sash wraps around his waist and hips. He rests his right hand, on our left, against his hip near his lower back, palm facing out. He wears a light, dove-gray glove on his opposite hand, and holds a second glove in that hand. The background is earth brown. The portrait is painted loosely, with broader brushstrokes in some areas, such as the hand at his hip and in the folds of the black garments.
Details
- Palette
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- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- overall: 94 × 75 cm (37 × 29 1/2 in.) framed: 119.06 × 99.22 × 9.53 cm (46 7/8 × 39 1/16 × 3 3/4 in.)
- Department
- CNE-B
- Holding institution
- National Gallery of Art
- Image provider
- national-gallery-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Andrew W. Mellon Collection
Art Genome Taxonomy
9 tags
Subject Matter
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Individual Portrait Both · 99%
The museum title identifies Adriaen van Ostade, and the image clearly presents a single posed male sitter in a portrait format.
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Face Visual · 99%
The sitter’s face is a central focal point, with visible modeling of the eyes, nose, cheeks, mouth, and facial hair.
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Eye Contact Visual · 98%
The sitter looks directly outward toward the viewer.
Visual Qualities
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Dark Colors Visual · 97%
Black and near-black tones dominate the hat and clothing, with the dark brown background reinforcing the subdued tonal range.
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Earth Tones Both · 95%
The brown ground and warm flesh and hair tones establish an earthy palette, contrasted by the white collar and pale glove.
Medium and Techniques
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Painting Metadata · 99%
The National Gallery of Art classifies the work as a painting.
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Oil Painting Metadata · 99%
The museum specifies the medium as oil on canvas.
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Large Brushstrokes/Loose Brushwork Both · 95%
The image shows visibly loose, broad handling in areas including the hands, hair, and folds of the dark garments; the museum description also notes broader brushstrokes in these areas.
Time Periods
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17th Century Art Metadata · 99%
The museum dates the work to 1646/1648, placing it in the seventeenth century.
Source & rights
Frans Hals. Adriaen van Ostade. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.