European Painting before 1900, Johnson Collection The Doctor's Visit Made in Netherlands, Europec. 1660-65 Jan Steen, Dutch (active Leiden, Haarlem, and The Hague), 1626 - 1679 Oil on panel * Gallery 264, European Art 1500-1850, second floor Cat. 510 John G. Johnson Collection, 1917 |
LabelJan Steen is known for his entertaining and moralizing scenes of contemporary Dutch life. One of his favorite themes was the doctor’s visit, usually to a young woman suffering from lovesickness or pregnancy. The ribbon smoldering on the brazier near the patient’s foot was a quack technique for determining pregnancy. The doctor checks her pulse and appears startled by its quickening, a possible reaction to the man in the doorway, who is presumably the cause of her illness. The laughing figure holding a herring above the woman seems to confirm her predicament and folly.* Works in the collection are moved off view for many different reasons. Although gallery locations on the website are updated regularly, there is no guarantee that this object will be on display on the day of your visit. |
