A Man Caressing the Young Hostess
1660/64
Medium
Etching in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 19.8 × 16.5 cm (7 13/16 × 6 1/2 in.); Sheet, trimmed within platemark: 22.6 × 17.3 cm (8 15/16 × 6 13/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
23829
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Cornelis Pietersz Bega’s talents were wide-ranging—from painting and drawing to etching—and genre scenes of everyday Dutch life were his principal subjects. In this etching, Bega depicted an interaction between lecherous drunkards and a young tavern hostess. On the makeshift barrel table are a bottle of alcohol and coals for the pipe. The ace of spades, one of the three playing cards scattered on the ground, symbolizes death, suggesting the work’s moralizing message.