A Young Man Caressing the Young Hostess - Cornelis Pietersz. Bega

Elizabeth Hammond Stickney Collection

"A Young Man Caressing the Young Hostess" by Cornelis Pietersz. Bega (c. 1650) Etching on cream laid paper.

Commentary

"A Young Man Caressing the Young Hostess" by Cornelis Pietersz. Bega (c. 1650) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. The print-based method rewards close viewing, where line, texture, and contrast do most of the expressive work. Themes to notice include etching. This piece is held in the source collection's Prints and Drawings collection. Cornelis Pietersz. Bega is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Cornelis Pietersz Bega Dutch, 1631/32-1664. The work is cataloged within a Netherlands cultural context. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as etching, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Etching on cream laid paper) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Image: 19.7 × 16.4 cm (7 13/16 × 6 1/2 in.); Sheet: 20.5 × 16.8 cm (8 1/8 × 6 5/8 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include etching. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/66

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data