Woman at her Toilet

Jan Havicksz. Steen, 1655 - 1660

Presented here is an intimate moment of a young woman undressing before going to bed. She is in the midst of pulling off a stocking, with the imprint of the garter still visible just below her knee. The raised skirt provides a glimpse along her legs. Such explicit nudity, however, was not always deemed acceptable; until a hundred years ago, an underskirt was painted over her thighs.

Artwork typepainting
Object numberSK-A-4052
Dimensionsheight 37 cm x width 27.5 cm
Physical characteristicsoil on panel

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Jan Havicksz. Steen (mentioned on object), 1660 - 1679

Identification

Title(s)
Woman at her Toilet
Object type
Object number
SK-A-4052
Description
Het toilet. Zittend op de rand van haar bed trekt een vrouw met een hoofddoek en een met bont afgezet jakje een kous over haar rechtervoet. Op het kussen van het bed slaapt een hondje, op de vloer liggen twee sloffen en een po.
Inscriptions / marks
signature: ‘JSteen’
Catalogue reference
C. Willemijn Fock, 'Werkelijkheid of Schijn. Het Beeld Van Het Hollandse Interieur in De Zeventiende-Eeuwse Genreschilderkunst', Oud Holland 112 (1998), nr. 4, p. 217, afb. 31.

Creation

Creation
painter: Jan Havicksz. Steen
Dating
1655 - 1660
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Material and technique

Physical description
oil on panel
Material
Dimensions
height 37 cm x width 27.5 cm

This work is about

Subject

Acquisition and rights

Credit line
De Bruijn-van der Leeuw Bequest, Muri, Switzerland
Acquisition
bequest 1961
Copyright
Public domain
Provenance
Inv.; from Dr. A. Pauli, Amsterdam, fl.25,000, to Johanna Geertruida de Bruyn- van der Leeuw(1887-1960),Spiez, 1924;{Note RMA.} donated to the museum by Isaäc de Bruijn and his wife, Johanna Geertruida de Bruyn- van der Leeuw (1877-1960), Spiez and Muri, near Bern, 1949, but kept in usufruct;{Note RMA.} transferred to the museum, 1961
Remarks
Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

Documentation

C. Willemijn Fock, 'Werkelijkheid of Schijn. Het Beeld Van Het Hollandse Interieur in De Zeventiende-Eeuwse Genreschilderkunst', Oud Holland 112 (1998), nr. 4, p. 217, afb. 31.

Persistent URL

To refer to this object, please use the following persistent URL:
https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200107999