'The Caudle Makers'

This painting, which probably stems from Jan Steen’s Haarlem period, depicts an old couple: a seated woman stirring the contents of a silver brandywine bowl and a man grating spices. The picture was given its present title, ‘The Caudle Makers’, in 1881. Caudle, made of brandywine, egg yolks and cinnamon, was drunk during maternity visits. Considering that egg yolks and cinnamon are missing here and the old man is probably grating nutmeg, it is likely that this scene portrays something else. Moreover, the man wears the same oldfashioned hat and attire as the quacksalvers in Steen’s ‘doctor’s visits’, and there is no sign whatsoever of a birth. The preparation of a steaming drink, combined with the fire in the hearth in the background, can be viewed mockingly as a quack’s remedy aimed at warming up the old woman’s body.