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The fruit and vegetable seller

Joachim Wtewaelcirca 1618

Centraal Museum

Centraal Museum
Utrecht, Netherlands

Proverbs were a favourite motif for seventeenth-century illustrators. In this painting, the young girl shows her mother ‘the rotten apple that spoils all the rest’ (‘een rotte appel in de mand, maakt al het gave fruit te schand’), which informs us that evil is infectious, and that good morals can be corrupted by bad company. The poet and moralist Jacob Cats describes this proverb in his book Spiegel van den ouden ende nieuwen tijd (i.e. ‘Mirror of the old and new times’; 1632), specifically reminding parents that a child’s tender soul is very susceptible to bad influences.

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  • Title: The fruit and vegetable seller
  • Creator: Joachim Wtewael
  • Creator Lifespan: 1566 - 1638
  • Creator Death Place: Utrecht
  • Creator Birth Place: Utrecht
  • Date Created: circa 1618
  • Physical Dimensions: w161.3 x h118.8 cm
  • Type: paintings
  • External Link: Centraal Museum
Centraal Museum

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