Two Maids Drinking and Smoking, Cornelis Pietersz. Bega
Cornelis Pietersz. Bega
Two Maids Drinking and Smoking
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Cornelis Pietersz. Bega

Two Maids Drinking and Smoking, 1663


Dimensions
36.0 x 28.9 cm
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Inventory Number
641
Acquisition
Acquired in 1817 as a bequest from Johann Georg Grambs
Status
On display, 2nd upper level, Old Masters, room 7

Texts

About the Work

Liquor and smoke dominate the scene. The woman on the right looks at her companion glassy-eyed. Their revealing necklines, and above all the bed in the background, leave no doubt: the two female protagonists are prostitutes. Depictions of the poor and licentious members of society had been popular in Haarlem since Frans Hals. Yet Cornelis Bega rendered the fabrics with delicate colours and folds. He thus combined the coarse peasant genre with the aesthetic of the “Leiden fine painters” around Gerard Dou, who was highly prized by art admirers of the period.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
Two Maids Drinking and Smoking
Painter
Period Produced
School
Object Type
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Material
Technique
Label at the Time of Manufacture
Signiert und datiert unten rechts: C Bega Ao 1663

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Departement
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
Public Domain
Acquisition
Acquired in 1817 as a bequest from Johann Georg Grambs

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre
Main Motif

Iconclass

Primary
  • 33C52 whore, prostitute
  • 41C12 drinking
  • 41C741 pipe ~ tobacco
  • 33A35 conversation, dialogue; conversation piece
Secondary
  • 41A23 bedroom
  • 51DD1 Disorder, Confusion, Derangement, Disorganization, Chaos

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History
...
Johann Georg Grambs (Städel-Administrator
1756-1817), Frankfurt am Main
Vermächtnis an das Städelsche Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main, 1817.

Information

Since 2001, the Städel Museum has systematically been researching the provenance of all objects that were acquired during the National Socialist period, or that changed owners or could have changed owners during those years. The basis for this research is the “Washington Declaration”, also known as the “Washington Conference Principles”, formulated at the 1998 “Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets” and the subsequent “Joint Declaration”.

The provenance information is based on the sources researched at the time they were published digitally. However, this information can change at any time when new sources are discovered. Provenance research is therefore a continuous process and one that is updated at regular intervals.

Ideally, the provenance information documents an object’s origins from the time it was created until the date when it found its way into the collection. It contains the following details, provided they are known:

  • the type of acquisition and/or the way the object changed hands
  • the owner's name and place of residence
  • the date on which it changed hands

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Last update

25.04.2024