OSTADE, Adriaen Jansz. van
(b. 1610, Haarlem, d. 1685, Haarlem)

The Breakfast

c. 1650
Etching
Private collection

The Latin inscription on this print (fifth state) presents a free variation on one of the elegies of the Roman poet Tibullus: "We spend time for an untroubled table. After a lengthy wait, a fair day comes." The inscription interprets the scene in a sympathetic, positive light, celebrating the peasants' respite from toil.




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