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 “Woodcutter and Children” in the gallery of Cassel. Innumerable almost are the more familiar themes to which he devoted his brush during this interval, from small single figures, representing smokers or drinkers, to vulgarized allegories of the five senses (Hermitage and Brunswick galleries), half-lengths of fishmongers and bakers and cottage brawls, or scenes of gambling, or itinerant players and quacks, and nine-pin players in the open air. The humour in some of these pieces is contagious, as in the “Tavern Scene” of the Lacaze collection (Louvre, 1653). His art may be studied in the large series of dated pieces which adorn every European capital, from St Petersburg to London. Buckingham Palace has a large number, and many a good specimen lies hidden in the private collections of England. But if we should select a few as peculiarly worthy of attention, we might point to the “Rustics in a Tavern” of 1662 at the Hague, the “Village School” of the same year at the Louvre, the “Tavern Court-yard” of 1670 at Cassel, the “Sportsmen’s Rest” of 1671 at Amsterdam and the “Fiddler and his Audience” of 1673 at the Hague. At Amsterdam we have the likeness of a painter, sitting with his back to the spectator, at his easel. The colour-grinder is at work in a corner, a pupil prepares a palette and a black dog sleeps on the ground. A replica of this picture, with the date of 1666, is in the Dresden gallery. Both specimens are supposed to represent Ostade himself. But unfortunately we see the artist’s back and not his face. In his etching (Bartsch, 32) the painter shows himself in profile, at work on a canvas. Two of his latest dated works, the “Village Street” and “Skittle Players,” which were noteworthy items in the Ashburton and Ellesmere collections, were executed in 1676 without any sign of declining powers. The prices which Ostade received are not known, but pictures which were worth £40 in 1750 were worth £1000 a century later, and Earl Dudley gave £4120 for a cottage interior in 1876. The signatures of Ostade vary at different periods. But the first two letters are generally interlaced. Up to 1635 Ostade writes himself Ostaden, e.g. in the “Bagpiper” of 1635 in the Liechtenstein collection at Vienna. Later on he uses the long s (ſ), and occasionally he signs in capital letters. His pupils are his own brother Isaac, Cornelis Bega, Cornelis Dusart and Richard Brakenburg.

2. (1621–1649) was born in Haarlem, and began his studies under Adrian, with whom he remained till 1641, when he started on his own account. At an early period he felt the influence of Rembrandt, and this is apparent in a “Slaughtered Pig” of 1639, in the gallery of Augsburg. But he soon reverted to a style more suited to his brush. He produced pictures in 1641–1642 on the lines of his brother—amongst these, the “Five Senses,” which Adrian afterwards represented by a “Man reading a Paper,” a “Peasant tasting Beer,” a “Rustic smearing his Sores with Ointment” and a “Countryman sniffing at a Snuff-box.” A specimen of Isaac’s work at this period may be seen in the “Laughing Boor with a Pot of Beer,” in the museum of Amsterdam; the cottage interior, with two peasants and three children near a fire, in the Berlin museum; a “Concert,” with people listening to singers accompanied by a piper and flute player, and a “Boor stealing a Kiss from a Woman,” in the Lacaze collection at the Louvre. The interior at Berlin is lighted from a casement in the same Rembrandtesque style as Adrian’s interior of 1643 at the Louvre. The low price he received for his pictures of this character—in which he could only hope to remain a satellite of Adrian—induced him gradually to abandon the cottage subjects of his brother for landscapes in the fashion of Esaias Van de Velde and Salomon Ruisdael. Once only, in 1645, he seems to have fallen into the old groove, when he produced the “Slaughtered Pig,” with the boy puffing out a bladder, in the museum of Lille. But this was an exception. Isaac’s progress in his new path was greatly facilitated by his previous experience as a figure painter; and, although he now selected his subjects either from village high streets or frozen canals, he gave fresh life to the scenes he depicted by groups of people full of movement and animation, which he relieved in their coarse humours and sordid appearance by a refined and searching study of picturesque contrasts. He did not live long enough to bring his art to the highest perfection. He died on the 16th October 1649 having painted about 400 pictures (see H. de Groot, 1910).

 OSTASHKOV, a town of Russia, in the government of Tver, on Lake Seliger, 108 m. W.N.W. of the city of Tver; pop. 10,457. The climate is damp and unhealthy. The town has tanneries, and is a centre for the making of boots and shoes, for agricultural implements, fishing-nets and the building of boats. The advantageous site, the proximity of the Smolenskiy Zhitnyi monastery, a pilgrim resort on an island of the lake and the early development of certain petty trades combined to bring prosperity to Ostashkov. Its cathedral (1672–1685) contains valuable offerings, as also do two other churches of the same century.  OSTEND (Flemish and French Ostende), a town of Belgium in the province of West Flanders. Pop. (1904) 41,181. It is the most fashionable seaside resort and the second port of the kingdom. Situated on the North Sea it forms almost the central point on the 42 m. of sea-coast that belong to Belgium. In the middle ages it was strongly fortified and underwent several sieges; the most notable was that of 1601–1604, when it only surrendered by order of the states to Spinola. In 1865 the last vestiges of its ramparts were removed, and since that date, but more especially since 1898, a new town has been created. The digue or parade, constructed of solid granite, extends for over 2 m. along the shore in a southerly direction from the long jetty which protects the entrance to the port. A fine casino and the royal chalet are prominent objects along the sea front, and the sea-bathing is unsurpassed. In the rear of the town is a fine park to which a race-course has been added. Extensive works were begun in 1900 for the purpose of carrying the harbour back 2 m., and a series of large docks were excavated and extensive quays constructed. The docks accommodate ships of large tonnage. Apart from these docks Ostend has a very considerable passenger and provision traffic with England, and is the headquarters of the Belgian fishing fleet, estimated to employ 400 boats and 1600 men and boys. Ostend is in direct railway communication with Brussels, Cologne and Berlin. It is also the starting point of several light railways along the coast and to the southern towns of Flanders.  OSTEND COMPANY. The success of the Dutch, English and French East India Companies led the merchants and shipowners of Ostend to desire to establish direct commercial relations with the Indies. A private company was accordingly formed in 1717 and some ships sent to the East. The emperor Charles VI. encouraged his subjects to raise subscriptions for the new enterprise, but did not grant a charter or letters patent. Some success attended these early efforts, but the jealousy of the neighbouring nations was shown by the seizure of an Ostend