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.

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

•  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.