Adriaen van Ostade

Adriaen van Ostade painted village life in Holland: peasants drinking in smoky taverns, families in cramped cottages, fiddlers and fairs. His interiors are warm and brown, lit from a single window, with figures that are rough but full of character and good humour.

He spent his whole life in Haarlem and is said to have trained with Frans Hals. He was very productive and ran a busy workshop; his younger brother Isaac and the genre painter Cornelis Dusart were among his pupils. He was also a fine etcher. In later years his colours grew lighter and his scenes more comfortable and domestic. His paintings are in the Louvre, the National Gallery in London, the Hermitage and the Royal Collection.

An Alchemist shows his gentle satire, with a cluttered workshop and a man chasing gold while his household falls apart. Look at the small details of pots, baskets and tools that fill his rooms.