The Egg Dance

Pieter Aertsen (1508?–1575), Antwerp, 1552, oil on panel

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
  • Dimensionsheight 84 cm x width 172 cm, weight 20.5 kg
  • Physical characteristicsolieverf op paneel