The Doctor's Visit

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• Alik asked

  Hello.
  May I ask you, what painting hangs on the wall in the Jan Steen’s “Doctor visit”?
  Thank you)

• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

  Hi Alik, The painting shows a Venus and Adonis-scene ( man and woman making love) in a landscape. Above the door is a cupido figure. Both the painting and the cupido underline the theme of The Doctor's Visit: the young woman lying in bed is suffering from unfulfilled desire. That's also why the doctor is wearing this strange theatrical costume and why all the people in the room are laughing about him writing a prescription. You might guessed this, as it was a quite popular theme in the 17th century. Kind regards, Els

• RAM Krishnan asked

  Ha the painting in the background with the two figures been identified? If not identified, what is the theme of the painting?
  
  Thank you.
  KInd regards,
  ram

• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

  Dear Ram, The painting in the background has not been identified as a work that exists in reality, so probably it is an invention by Jan Steen. The theme has been identified as Venus and Adonis, which makes sense since the female protagonist is not sick in a medical sense but suffers from heartache. On the piece of paper at the right you can read (in Dutch) “hier baet geen medesijn, want het is minnepijn”, which can be translated as "in this case medicine will not help, because it is the pangs of love". I hope this answer is helpful. Kind regards, Els