Closeup image of maulstick being used by painter

A maulstick or mahlstick /ˈmɔːlstɪk/ MAWL-stik^[1] 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 'painter's 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
• 
  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.