Public domain
The Sick Woman
From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Faint from fever, the young woman rests her head on a pillow. Is she perhaps lovesick? Is she pregnant? To find out, a quack would put a strip of his patient’s clothing in a brazier to smoulder – the scent would disclose her secret. Jan Steen here presents such a charlatan making a diagnosis. His old-fashioned attire characterizes him as a comic character.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own descriptionCredit lineDe zieke vrouw. c. 1663 - c. 1666. Jan Havicksz. Steen. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public domain.
Similar works
Photographic reproduction of the painting 'The Sick Woman' by Jan Havicksz. Steen
The Intruder
Photographic reproduction of the painting The Sick Woman by Jan Havicksz. Steen
The Pride of the Village
Interior of an Inn, with Figures in Seventeenth-Century Costume
Photographic reproduction of the painting The Sick Woman by Jan Steen