Interior with Peasants 1625 - 1685

Editor: So this is "Interior with Peasants," dating from 1625 to 1685, by Adriaen van Ostade. It’s done in ink on paper, and you can find it at the Met. It looks like a snapshot of daily life, pretty gritty. What strikes you about this work? Curator: It offers us a glimpse into the social fabric of the Dutch Golden Age. Genre paintings like this, particularly depictions of peasant life, gained popularity then. Think about why: who was commissioning and consuming these images? Was it simply objective representation, or something more? Editor: Hmmm, so it’s not just a neutral scene. Were the wealthier classes interested in romanticizing the lives of the poor? Curator: Perhaps "romanticizing" isn't quite the word, more of an exoticization? Paintings like this served to reinforce social hierarchies. This ‘realism’ you mentioned provided a controlled and, in a way, ‘safe’ encounter with a class that was often seen as other, as different. Look at how Ostade renders each figure. What do their postures and interactions convey to you? Are they individualized, or more like types? Editor: Good point. They’re more like types, I guess – almost caricatures. That changes things…So it's less about depicting reality and more about… confirming existing biases? Curator: Precisely! The ‘Interior with Peasants’ and others similar helped solidify a particular understanding of social order, one convenient for the patrons and viewers. Editor: Wow, I was way off. I came in thinking it was just a simple slice of life, but it sounds like there’s so much more to unpack about its social function. Curator: Exactly. Art serves society, consciously or otherwise. Always consider not just what is shown, but who is seeing it and why.