The Lovesick Maiden

Jan Steen Dutch

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 637

Doctors were familiar targets of parody in Steen’s native Leiden, the home of a famous medical school. Borrowing from the comic stage, Steen identifies the old man as a quack by his peculiar clothing, while the nature of the young lady’s malady is suggested by the Cupid over the door and other hints like the prominent bed.

The Lovesick Maiden, Jan Steen (Dutch, Leiden 1626–1679 Leiden), Oil on canvas

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