Adriaen van de Venne’s “Moralizing Scene with an Old Woman and a Man”

Adriaen caravan de Venne is perhaps bingle of the much popular Dutch painters from the Baroque era. Although he was not officially trained as an wileist, a number of Dutch artists have influenced Adriaen van de Vennes style. Jan and Peter Brueghel are two of the artists whose styles have influenced van de Venne preferably greatly, both employing their scene style and the over-all theme of their chosen subjects.His experiences as a book illustrator, painter and drafts populace, and the time he spent learning art with local artists enabled Adriaen van de Venne to come up with his own signature style, of which the grisaille technique appears most commonly.His painting, Moralizing Scene with an sexagenarian Wo creation and a homophile was painted by Adriaen van de Venne in 1631. The oil on opus painting measures 6 9/16 inches by 4 inches and is rather characteristic of the artists later style, specifically the grisaille technique.The grisaille technique earlier makes consu mption of different shades of gray for a monochrome, more melodramatic effect. Perhaps the most striking characteristic of the painting is the use of pestilent tones of the only one color to depict the entire scene.An out of date fair sex carrying a cat is seen smoking an sometime(a)er servicemans pipe, which he carries close enough for the char to take a puff. Another superannuated man who is partly hidden behind the old cleaning lady is seen tapping her shoulder, man a boy patting a dog is seen behind the old man with the pipe.Another significant element in the painting is the use of light. The old man with the pipe carries a lamp on his other hand which lights his face instead clearly, as well as his hands and likewise the old womanhoods face. The light that the lamp gives off makes it possible to see the finer dilate of the painting such as the old mans succinct beard the old womans wrinkled face and also their soiled hands.The crescent moon on the upper left coig ne of the painting also makes wise use of light in the painting itself, adding more flair and making the otherwise dull night more dramatic. Art enthusiasts believe that Adriaen van de Vennes Moralizing Scene with an Old Woman and a Man is one of his works which makes the best use of light to highlight the features of the subjects on his painting.True to Adriaen van de Vennes certain feature of painting scenes that depict normal people in their daily modus operandi in a satirical, often symbolic light to warn against a number of unpleasant behavior. The particular painting might be apocalyptical of this particular characteristic however, one cannot derive an absolute notion as to what the painting specifically depicts.Only inferences may be derived from the said painting as to which viciousness it may warn people against, owing to the seemingly destitute act of the old woman smoking an old mans pipe. Perhaps it talks about the immoral behavior that both the old man and woman e xhibit especially during the period it was painted.The old woman smoking the pipe may suggest her unfounded extravagance, while the old man offering his pipe may suggest his unclear intentions for the woman. The man tapping the woman in the background may perhaps be suggesting that the woman should not be smoking from somebody elses pipe in the first place while the child petting the dog provides a great contrast with the immoral behavior going on in the foreground.Personally the grisaille technique is not one of my favorite painting styles because of its subdued and monochromatic colors however, having this particular painting of Adriaen van de Venne hung as part of my order of battle will surely be a delight because it will continuously serve as a reminder and a warning of the immorality that exists in society.The artists real intentions behind the painting may no longer be discovered but how one looks at it and interprets it may hold different significant meanings for different people.