Chamber Pots and Candles

Painting #7 is based on The Sick Woman by Jan Steen. It is finished and drying as we speak! This was an easy painting to choose because of the shimmering, brilliant colors used in the original; lapis, vermilion, golden ochres, are but a few. Showing here is a very teeny detail on the left of the focus area which includes some of that vermilion heightened with a little red lake.

Jan Steen was a very prolific painter who produced as many as 400 works in his life. He was crafty and loved to portray scenes with hidden meanings such as in this one that shows an obviously ill young woman who is pregnant. Within the scene are clues to prove this, such as, a lute (symbol of love), and a chamber pot and candle. According to the show catalogue, "the ribbons on the foot warmer allude to the burning of a ribbon soaked in urine, a then-current antidote for morning sickness." You will all enjoy finding these and other, thankfully antiquated, meanings when viewing this one.