The Egg Dance — Pieter Aertsen

Pieter Aertsen. Painted 1552.

At right, in this brothel, a young man does an egg dance to the music of a bagpiper. While dancing, he had to roll an egg within a chalk circle – without it breaking – and to cover it with a wooden bowl. This ‘pointless’ amusement, along with the dissolute behaviour of the other figures, served as a moral warning against debauchery.

From the collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Currently on display in Main building, Renaissance in the Netherlands, Middle Ages and Renaissance.

oil paint (paint), panel · Original size: 172 × 84 cm

Print: 119 × 58.1 cm, printed on Hahnemühle FineArt archival cotton paper. Museum-grade reproduction quality, true to the colours and detail of the original work.

Frame (optional): a custom-made wooden frame in a matte black finish, cut to the exact dimensions of this print, with an off-white passe-partout mat and protective glazing. Ready to hang.

Source: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200108123. Image released under CC0 by the Rijksmuseum.