The Cupper (Kopster)
1695
Medium
Etching on paper
Dimensions
Image: 22.3 × 17 cm (8 13/16 × 6 3/4 in.); Platemark: 25.7 × 17.6 cm (10 1/8 × 6 15/16 in.); Sheet: 26.3 × 18.1 cm (10 3/8 × 7 3/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
108969
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
A wince-inducing, humorously sexualized take on now outdated medical practices, Cornelis Dusart’s etching shows a woman undergoing minor surgery. Possibly to alleviate a female complaint, heated glass cups are applied to her feet. These raise blood-filled boils, which the attendant then lances and purges of bad blood. The appended verses and the bill of fare hanging on the mantelpiece both mention clystering as a subsequent treatment option: the upward diagonal angle of the clyster (an enema or ...
About the Artist
Cornelis Dusart · 1660–1704
Cornelis Dusart (1660–1704) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and printmaker who stands as one of the most important continuators of the peasant genre tradition established by Adriaen van Ostade in Haarlem. Born in Haarlem, Dusart entered Van Ostade's workshop as a pupil and assistant, a relationship that proved formative in every respect. He so thoroughly absorbed his master's approach — the depi...