The Family 1647

Adriaen van Ostade’s etching, “The Family,” offers a glimpse into the domestic life of 17th-century Holland. Ostade often depicted peasant life, and here we see a family huddled within a modest, cluttered home. Made during the Dutch Golden Age, a period of immense economic growth and social change, the artwork presents a vision of the family unit in contrast to the grand narratives of wealth and power. The scene is intimate, but it also hints at the hardships of daily life for the working class, with cramped quarters and simple furnishings. Ostade's choice to focus on such subjects reflects a broader interest in the everyday lives of ordinary people, which was developing within Dutch art at this time. To fully understand "The Family," we can turn to period sources. These include household inventories and social histories. These help us to better understand the economic conditions and cultural values that shaped the lives of the people depicted in such artworks.