Where Is Sense of Smell? See It at State Hermitage Museum

Q: What is the Five Senses series?

Van Ostade created a series representing the five senses through humorous peasant scenes. This 1635 painting shows smell through a man reacting to a baby being changed.

Q: Where is Sense of Smell displayed?

The painting hangs at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. It joined the collection in 1920 with inventory number ГЭ-999. The work measures just 20 x 24.5 cm.

Q: Who was Adriaen van Ostade?

Van Ostade (1610-1685) was a Dutch Golden Age painter who specialized in peasant genre scenes. He depicted common people in taverns and homes with humor and skilled observation.

Q: How big is this painting?

The oil on panel measures just 20 x 24.5 cm (about 8 x 10 inches). Despite its small size, van Ostade packed it with detail and character, showing his mastery of miniature compositions.

Adriaen van Ostade painted the humorous domestic scene in 1635 as part of his "Five Senses" series. A man plugs his nose while a woman changes a baby's diaper. The comic representation of the sense of smell shows peasant life with wit and warmth.

Van Ostade specialized in scenes of Dutch peasant life, painting common people in taverns and homes. This small panel measures just 20 x 24.5 cm. The Hermitage acquired it in 1920, adding it to their Dutch Golden Age collection. The painting demonstrates van Ostade's skill at capturing everyday moments with humor. Now at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.

Van Ostade created a series representing the five senses through humorous peasant scenes. This 1635 painting shows smell through a man reacting to a baby being changed.

The painting hangs at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. It joined the collection in 1920 with inventory number ГЭ-999. The work measures just 20 x 24.5 cm.

Van Ostade (1610-1685) was a Dutch Golden Age painter who specialized in peasant genre scenes. He depicted common people in taverns and homes with humor and skilled observation.

The oil on panel measures just 20 x 24.5 cm (about 8 x 10 inches). Despite its small size, van Ostade packed it with detail and character, showing his mastery of miniature compositions.

Sense of Smell

Where to See It

The Artist

More by Adriaen van Ostade

An Old Woman by Window

Lawyer in His Study

Quarrel

Happy Peasants

Also at State Hermitage Museum

Waterloo Bridge

Madonna with a Flower (Madonna Benois)

An Old Man with a Large Beard

St George

About Sense of Smell

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