Maulstick

File:Anguissola Self-portrait at the easel (detail).jpg

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 'to paint'. 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
  William-Adolphe Bouguereau holding painting implements
• Self portrait of Caterina van Hemessen
  Self portrait of Caterina van Hemessen
• Self-portrait by Sofonisba Anguissola
  Self-portrait by Sofonisba Anguissola
• Portrait of Eva Gonzalès, by Édouard Manet
  Portrait of Eva Gonzalès, by Édouard Manet
• Detail of Vermeer's The Art of Painting with artist using mahlstick
  Detail of Vermeer's The Art of Painting with artist using mahlstick
• M. C. Escher using a mahlstick while working on Sphere Surface with Fish (1958)
  M. C. Escher using a mahlstick while working on Sphere Surface with Fish (1958)

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.