Man betaalt zijn kosten aan vrouw in een herberg 1648 - 1653

Adriaen van Ostade created this etching, "Man Paying his Costs to a Woman in a Tavern," using a technique dependent on craft skill. The scene is brought to life through the labor-intensive process of etching. Van Ostade would have started by coating a metal plate with wax, then carefully drawing his composition, and the exposed metal bitten by acid. The network of lines, built through labor and chemical action, defines the whole composition, with its play of light and shadow. The material and the making are one. Look closely, and you’ll see the detailed rendering of the tavern interior and its inhabitants; a snapshot of daily life in the 17th century. The exchange of money is central to the scene, hinting at the economic realities of the time, the cost of leisure, and the transactions that underpinned society. The print medium itself speaks to distribution and consumption. Etchings like this one made art accessible to a broader audience, weaving it into the social fabric of Dutch life.