Rascals, Rogues and Children Adriaen van Ostade   06.04.2016 – 03.07.2016

Rascals, Rogues and Children. The Prints of Adriaen van Ostade

In addition to Rembrandt, Van Ostade occupies an outstanding position in Dutch genre art. His light, extremely subtle and detailed etchings not only reveal intimate observations of his subjects but also a fine sense of humor. Whereas his early prints testify to a certain tendency to caricature, his later works reproduce rural life without a moralizing or coldly analytical gaze.

The show takes an in-depth look at the complexity and subtlety of Van Ostade’s pictorial compositions as well as his technical precision. The exhibition compares Van Ostade’s etchings to similar subjects found in works by his contemporaries, such as Rembrandt, Esaias van de Velde and Claes Janszoon Visscher. Along with small etchings from the significant holdings of a private collector, original copper plates and preliminary drawings are on display. Through these drawings, in which individual figures and even entire compositions are developed down to the smallest detail, it is possible to follow the origins of the etchings and the transformation of Van Ostade’s style from the 1640s to the mid-1660s.

The exhibition catalogue for "Rascals, Rogues and Children: The Printed Works of Adriaen van Ostade" has been published by Deutsche Kunstverlag (248 pages and 194 color illustrations). The catalogue costs € 25 in the Museum Shop at the Kunsthalle (€ 29,90 in bookstores, ISBN: 978-3-422-07353-1).

Supporting Exhibition (not only) for Children and Families:
Children, Craftsmen, Copper Plates: How the Art of Etching Works

A supporting exhibition with works by Rembrandt, Pissarro, Manet, Beckmann and others explains the technique of etching and its development over the centuries with a special focus on children and their families at the Old Cabinet in the Collection of Prints and Drawings. Materials to touch, puzzle pictures, a hidden object game, and a film on the development of etching gives visitors insight into everything they need to know about the art of etching.