OSTADE, ISACK VAN

Isack also spelled Izaack, or Isak (baptized June 2, 1621, Haarlem, Neth.buried Oct. 16, 1649, Haarlem), Dutch genre and landscape painter of the Baroque period, especially noted for his winter scenes and depictions of peasants and travelers at rustic inns. Isack was a pupil of his brother Adriaen, whose manner he followed so closely that some of his early works have been confused with those of the elder Ostade. He soon branched out into a style more ambitious both in scale and in complexity of composition. In the 1640s, his most distinguished period, he did a small number of winter landscapes, with sleighers and skaters; they can be ranked among the finest of all Dutch paintings of this type. His most characteristic pictures depict figures resting outside an inn or a cottage with carts and horses. These works, reminiscent of compositions by Salomon van Ruysdael, show a keen grasp of design in the disposition of the figures, together with a sense of vivacity. He also excels in rendering misty or smoke-laden atmosphere. Since he died at such an early age (28), Isack van Ostade had few if any pupils, yet his influence on the succeeding generation of Haarlem painters was by no means negligible. Philips Wouwerman in particular seems to have owed much to him.