Cornelis Bega’s Seated Woman with a Footwarmer depicts a peasant woman seated with her feet perched on a footwarmer, turned away from the viewer.
While there is not a wealth of biographical information on the artist, it is evident that this piece is part of the Dutch “Low Life” style popular among Bega and several of his contemporaries. As religious importance subsided and commerce came to the forefront of Dutch consciousness, everyday home life was celebrated, and financial success was considered more important than being born into a noble family. These changing attitudes, combined with a growing private art market amongst the affluent Dutch people, likely contributed to the popularity and intrigue of this style.
The woman’s positioning in the work may be related to the footwarmer which her feet are perched on. In Dutch genre paintings, the presence of a footwarmer is often an indication of female desire. This symbolism can be explained by the fact that heat from the footwarmer did not simply reach a woman’s foot, but travelled all the way under her long skirt. In the work, the woman’s stance and positioning away from the viewer may be indicative of shame or embarrassment in her use of the footwarmer and, on a larger scale, the taboo nature of female pleasure.
by Hannah Effinger