Jacob Cats and Adriaen van de Venne (illustrated by)

Spiegel van den ouden ende nieuwen tijdt

The Hague: Isaac Burchoorn, 1632.

 Legs splayed, this woman welcomes the heat and fumes of the fire. Yet, goes the accompanying rhyme, she cannot peel herself away from the smell of the coal which creeps through her body, intoxicating her; for she has lost her senses in a state of infatuation.

In the background, whilst entwined with her lover, the woman is also intoxicated by the sweet smell of a flower. Fumigating to excess and in an amorous frenzy was perceived to be troublesome, because in this case, it distracted women from doing the housework.

S757.c.63.1 (p. 46)