The Egg Dance

Pieter Aertsen, 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.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-3
  • Dimensionsweight 20.5 kg, height 84 cm x width 172 cm
  • Physical characteristicsolieverf op paneel

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