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.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Prints and Drawings
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Artist
- Cornelis Pietersz. Bega
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Title
- A Man Caressing the Young Hostess
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Place
- Netherlands (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- 1660–1664
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Medium
- Etching in black on ivory laid paper
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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.)
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Credit Line
- John H. Wrenn Memorial Collection
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Reference Number
- 1965.634
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/23829/manifest.json