The Drinker

Adriaen van Ostade, a native of Haarlem, is said to have been a pupil of Frans Hals. Certainly one can see the master's influence in his choice of subjects and in his approach, particularly in his early work, but he created an artistic idiom of his own and his development was essentially individual. He painted genre-scenes, recording the lives of ordinary Dutch townsfolk and peasants; in his pictures we see the interiors of cottages and poor village schools, crowded taverns and workshops. But he often depicted single figures as well: everyday characters such as the baker, the fishmonger or the barber-surgeon. Market scenes were a favourite subject of his.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 5 minutes): Otto Nicolai: Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor (The Merry Wives of Windsor), drinking song