An Interior with a Man offering an Oyster to a Woman

Artist: Jan Steen (Dutch, 1625/1626 - 1679)

Original Dimensions: 15" x 12 3/8"

Location: National Gallery of Art, London

About Artwork: (Probably 1660-5) "Centre stage, against a shadowy, mostly black-and-white background, the bright red jacket inevitably draws our eye to the young woman. She leans back – rather immodestly, a glass of wine held in her lap, knees apart, one foot up on a box – and smiles directly up at the man offering her an oyster. This not a polite gesture of thanks for the offer of a canapé to go with her wine. In seventeenth-century Holland, the connotations would have been understood immediately. Oysters were regarded as both an aphrodisiac and a reference to female sexuality: the man’s offer is an erotic advance. Other clues confirm the interpretation. The cat is a traditional symbol of lust, there is a curtained bed in the background and the table is supported by carvings of naked women, draped with garlands. The setting is a brothel – the woman works there." - (National Gallery of Art, London)