A Peasant seated smoking
- Artist: Arent (?) Diepraem
- Date: about 1650
- Medium: oil on wood
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the "A Peasant seated smoking" by Arent (?) Diepraem. Painted in the Dutch tradition, this work dates back to around 1650 and is rendered in oil on wood.
Take a look at the subject of the painting - a peasant sitting comfortably with a pipe in hand. It's a rather unusual and exaggerated representation of rural life. Some art historians have interpreted this image as an allegory for the fleeting nature of life, where the puff of smoke from the pipe symbolizes the transience of human existence.
But Diepraem was known to specialise in such stock characters - often with outlandish expressions. You'll notice that the peasant's face is quite distorted, and some have suggested it could be an atronie or a painting of a generic character type. Whatever the case, this style of portrayal became quite characteristic of Diepraem's work.
Diepraem also frequently featured peasants in group settings, often at an inn with a jug of Rhenish wine in the background. His work offers a fascinating glimpse into 17th-century Dutch culture and the ways in which art was used to convey social commentary.
See it in person
A Peasant seated smoking hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
