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A Cobbler

Photo credit: The National Gallery, London

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Scenes of the everyday life of peasants and tradesmen were popular among art buyers in seventeenth-century Holland. Often they were humorous, perhaps even mocking, in tone. This tiny picture, little bigger than a piece of A5 paper, is more sentimental, emphasising the cobbler’s diligence. He repairs a shoe in the window of his workshop while his customer sits smoking on a stool outside. All is neat and ordered: a broom stands ready to sweep up waste clippings and a small pot will take the ash from the pipe. There is a water pump on the right, but more significantly a vine – perhaps symbolic of virtue – flourishes on the wall next to it. Meanwhile the cobbler’s faithful dog sleeps peacefully on its red blanket. This picture was once thought to be by Adriaen van Ostade, a prolific painter and etcher of peasant scenes.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

A Cobbler

Date

about 1680 - about 1720

Medium

Oil on oak

Measurements

H 22.6 x W 18.2 cm

Accession number

NG2541

Acquisition method

Salting Bequest, 1910

Work type

Painting

Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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