Couple with a spindle and a hen - Maarten van Cleve (Antwerp 1527 - 1581)

Oil on panel, parquetted.

In this painting, Marten van Cleve takes up the motif of the "hen toucher", which is widespread in Netherlandish art. However, the farmer is not worried about his hen's unlaid eggs. The interpretation of the content of the depiction as a coarse and crude eroticisation typical of the period is derived from an inscribed copperplate engraving of the same subject: the farmer has noticed that the hen is "locked". In response, the farmer's wife holds the spindle out to him.

Comes with a certificate by Klaus Ertz (Lingen, 2022)

Van Cleve was a Flemish painter, mainly known for his genre scenes with peasants and landscapes.