Maulstick

Closeup image of maulstick being used by painter

A maulstick or mahlstick /ˈmɔːlstɪk/ MAWL-stik is a stick with a soft leather or padded head used by painters to support the working hand with a paintbrush or pen. The word derives from the German and Dutch Malstock or maalstok 'painting stick', from malen which means 'to paint' in German and Middle Dutch. In contemporary Dutch it only means 'to grind'.

In 16th- through 19th-century paintings of artists, including self-portraits, the maulstick is often depicted as part of the painter's equipment.

Gallery

• 
  William-Adolphe Bouguereau holding painting implements
• 
  Self portrait of Caterina van Hemessen
• 
  Self-portrait by Sofonisba Anguissola
• 
  Portrait of Eva Gonzalès, by Édouard Manet
• 
  Detail of Vermeer's The Art of Painting with artist using mahlstick

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Maulstick". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 904.