Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685) lived and worked in Haarlem his entire life. He may have been apprenticed to Frans Hals together with Adriaen Brouwer. The latter’s influence is discernable in Van Ostade's early paintings. He continued to paint scenes of village life in taverns and domestic interiors throughout his career. He also painted the seamier side of life: disreputable lawyers, teachers and quacksalvers. Van Ostade held various positions in Haarlem’s artist guild and served in the civic guard. He seems to have done well. Indeed, he was highly productive, with over eight hundred paintings and a couple of hundred drawings and watercolours. Van Ostade was a popular artist in his day. He taught several pupils, among them his younger brother Isaack van Ostade, Cornelis Bega and probably also Jan Steen.
