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1 of 253523 objects
Interior of a Peasant's Cottage: a Child about to be Fed Signed and dated 1651
Oil on panel | 34.2 x 29.0 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 406724
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The painting pleases by its simplicity. The pyramidal composition is reminiscent of representations of the Holy Family painted during the High Renaissance. Even though firmly anchored as a composition, the way the two principal figures sway outwards creates an internal dynamism that enlivens the scene, just as the treatment of the light entering the room from the window on the left and the unified colours help to characterise the figures. Indeed, both these stylistic features may have been derived from van Ostade’s knowledge of Rembrandt. The father with a pot of baby food seems to turn away in disgust as he prepares to feed the child. Signed and dated lower right: 'Av. Ostade/1651' (Av in monogram)
Provenance
Purchased by George IV from Sir Thomas Baring as part of a group of 86 Dutch and Flemish paintings, most of which were collected by Sir Thomas’s father, Sir Francis Baring; they arrived at Carlton House on 6 May 1814; Jan Gildemeester was a previous owner; recorded in the anti-room to the Dining Room at Carlton House in 1819 (no 107); in the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace in 1841 (no 106)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on panel
Measurements
34.2 x 29.0 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
51.7 x 46.7 x 4.5 cm (frame, external)
Other number(s)
Alternative title(s)
The child at nurse, previously entitled