The Young Innkeeper

While his talents were wide-ranging—from painting and drawing to etching—Cornelis Pietersz. Bega’s interest in Dutch peasant life and the ridiculed or pestered woman transcended his media and reappeared frequently in his work. In this image and A Man Caressing the Young Hostess (1965.634), unidealized drunkards lecherously interact with a young inn hostess. These prints feature the same wooden bench, barrel, and window closure, and the figures are in almost identical positions. The woman’s expression, however, varies from a flirtatious response to the man’s advances in A Man Caressing the Young Hostess to a less amused, dismissive reaction in The Young Innkeeper.