Artwork Page for The Drunken Couple

Details / Information for The Drunken Couple

The Drunken Couple

1685

Cornelis Dusart

(Dutch, 1660–1704)
Culture
Netherlands
Medium
etching
Measurements
Platemark: 13.1 x 10.9 cm (5 3/16 x 4 5/16 in.); Sheet: 13.5 x 11 cm (5 5/16 x 4 5/16 in.)
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis B. Williams Collection 1943.560
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
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Did You Know?

Thatched roofs like the one depicted here were popular throughout Europe until the 1800s. Many of the thatched roofs in Europe today contain straw dating back to the 1600s.

Description

Images of intoxicated individuals were intended to be humorous, but they also had serious undertones. Moralizing texts and preachers described drinking as sinful, immoral, and a threat to social norms. Accordingly, a drunk woman, as seen here, compromised the well-being of the home, which was thought to have an impact on society as a whole.
A vertically oriented etching depicts a man and woman in coarse clothing moving toward our right. The man raises a hat while the woman holds vessels in both hands, their mouths wide open as if singing. Behind them are thatched buildings and a large tree, with a crowd featuring a person carrying a basket on their head. In the lower-left corner the words: "Corn. dusart f. 1685."

The Drunken Couple

1685

Cornelis Dusart

(Dutch, 1660–1704)
Netherlands

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