# The Smoker

- By: Adriaen Brouwer (Oudenaarde, 1605–1638)
- Date: c. 1635 - c. 1640
- Medium: oil paint (paint), oak (wood)
- Classification: painting
- Dimensions: support: height 29.7 cm x width 21.5 cm
- Credit line: De Bruijn-van der Leeuw Bequest, Muri, Switzerland
- Museum: [Rijksmuseum](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/object/SK-A-4040--ca2575a7430e8c50244fab4dd074a6ff)
- Rights: [Public Domain Mark](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)
- Picture: https://iiif.micr.io/JEzbK/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Slouching in his chair, with his breeches open, the man blows smoke from his pipe through his nose. His eyes are glazed, as though he is in a stupor. In the 17th century smoking had fervent supporters as well as opponents. Some scholars held that tobacco smoke was therapeutic for both body and spirit; others were convinced that pipe-smoking was as harmful as excessive drinking.