Pieter Aertsen
1508 - 1575
The Egg Dance
1557
The horizontal painting was probably meant to be hung over the mantle.
Pieter Aertsen
1508 - 1575
The Egg Dance
1557
The horizontal painting was probably meant to be hung over the mantle.
At
the back of the room an old man is playing the bagpipes. Because of
its shape, the instrument often symbolised the male genitalia. In the
window is a jug containing a leek, a vegetable of the onion family.
A sixteenth-century viewer would immediately have realised that the
scene was a room in a brothel. Onions were supposed to be a stimulant.
All around lie onion flowers, leek leaves and mussels, which were supposed
to have the same quality. It was also thought to be true of eggs, the
theme of the painting. (Reference: WebMuseum, Paris) |
Mussels and eggs where also used by Steen |
Jug of leeks |
A joker is depicted on one of the wooden boards on the table, left, and on the other a goat jumping. These are a Tarot set. In the 16th century everyone would have known that these symbolised drunkenness and lust. The reel above the fireplace on the right is a sign of folly: in fact 'reeling' is still used today to describe a person staggering from the effects of alcohol. |
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