A Peasant in a Red Beret Smoking a Pipe 1646

Adriaen van Ostade painted this small oil on panel, *A Peasant in a Red Beret Smoking a Pipe,* sometime in the 17th century. Oil paint is a wonderfully versatile material, allowing for both fine detail and robust texture. You see that at work here, particularly in the face of this ruddy character. Ostade was part of a tradition of Dutch painters interested in everyday life, not just grand historical subjects or portraits of the wealthy. The making of paintings like this depended on a whole economy of labor; from the preparation of the wood panel, to the grinding of pigments for the paint, to the cultivation of flax for the linseed oil that binds the pigment together. And of course, we can't forget the cultivation of tobacco that the peasant is enjoying. All this labor is reflected in the image of a man pausing, taking a break, one small pleasure amongst the demands of daily life. Looking closely at the material reality of this painting helps us to see it not just as a picture, but as the product of many hands.