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This is an intimate family scene in a room depicted in a very detailed way.
The farmer stands by the table slicing bread, the little boy wearing a red cap is drinking soup, a second child is offering scraps to the dog, while the mother is busy with the baby of the family. The intimate family atmosphere is enriched by the subtle details of the setting which is splendidly painted in colours with transparent glazes. The peasants in this picture do not seem to be so poor and oppressed as those shown in other examples of the Dutch peasant genre; the home is comparatively well arranged and gives no suggestion of the hopelessness of a poverty-stricken life.
The painting is signed lower right: A v Ostaade 1647.
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