Gerard van Honthorst: Smiling Girl holding an Obscene Image (1625)

(Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, USA)

A painting by the Dutch artist Gerard van Honthorst (1592-1656). This portrait of a young girl is in fact a prostitute’s portrait. She is pointing to a small medallion which has a picture of a naked woman viewed from the back with the text "wie kent mijn naers van afteren" (= “Who can tell my backside from behind”). The more expensive prostitutes ordered portraits of themselves to show them to their customers, like a sort of advertisement. Gerard van Honthorst used this model in another painting: The Procuress (1625). Painting from 1625.