Staande figuur met gebogen knieën c. 1620 - 1685

Adriaen van Ostade created this chalk drawing, "Standing Figure with Bent Knees," in the Dutch Golden Age, a period marked by immense economic prosperity and artistic production. Van Ostade, himself a son of a weaver, often depicted peasant life. This sketch, part of a larger exploration of human figures, captures a person in what seems to be a moment of strain or weariness. The bent knees and hunched posture intimate a life of physical labor, reflecting the realities of the working class in 17th-century Netherlands. The loose lines suggest movement, as if the figure is caught between actions, a pause in their labor. While van Ostade’s genre paintings were popular among the middle class, offering a glimpse into the lives of the lower classes, the image also invites contemplation about the social hierarchies of the time. How do we view such representations today, considering our own social structures and biases? This drawing invites us to reflect on labor, class, and the body.