Slaughtering a Pig by Torchlight (1637)

Adriaen van Ostade is the artist behind "Slaughtering a Pig by Torchlight", dated 1637. Context for 1637: In the Dutch Republic, a prosperous middle-class market supported landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and scenes of daily life painted at a modest scale for the home. In Japan the Edo period began in 1603, and in China the Qing dynasty took power in 1644, both bringing new patrons and styles. Landscape in brief: Landscape became an independent genre in European painting in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, while in East Asia it had long been central to ink painting. Painters have used landscape to study light, weather, season, and the relation between people and place. It is listed in the Landscape collection. The image is in portrait orientation.

Buying "Slaughtering a Pig by Torchlight" means getting a digital file, not a physical print: Digital JPEG + PDF files, 300 DPI, delivered by email once payment is confirmed. A 300 DPI file is intended for printing at home or at a local print shop, where you can choose a matte, satin, or fine-art paper to suit the room. A portrait format suits narrow wall spaces, hallways, and the area beside a door or window. Landscape scenes add depth and a sense of air to the room, helping the space feel more open and working especially well above a sofa, console, or desk. A simple frame with a mat often helps an image settle comfortably into a room. Screens and printers render colour differently, so a small test print is a sensible way to check tones before committing to a large size. Matte and fine-art papers reduce glare in bright rooms, while glossy papers give stronger contrast and deeper blacks. Choosing a standard frame size and printing to fit it often saves the cost of custom framing.

Dutch, 1610–1684

If you like the visual language of Adriaen van Ostade, explore more works by the same artist in our collection.