Schilder in zijn atelier 1645 - 1649

Adriaen van Ostade created this etching, titled 'Painter in his Studio', in the 17th century. During the Dutch Golden Age, the lives of ordinary people became a popular subject for art, yet this image goes beyond the surface to explore the cultural status of the artist. The scene depicts a painter hard at work in his humble studio, his wife nearby. But it’s more than just a snapshot of daily life. The Latin inscription hints at the artist’s aspiration to be seen like Apelles, a famous painter of antiquity. The text also recognizes how fortune, or social position, plays into artistic success. Van Ostade seems to be speaking to the tension between the romantic idea of the artist as touched by genius, and the reality of the art world as shaped by economics and class. He draws us into the intimate reality of the studio space while simultaneously underscoring the artist’s complex position in society.