Favorite Ladies of Art #3: The Procuress--Gerrit von Honthorst (1625)

This reproduction doesn't do justice to what a cutie pie this naughty creature is (I am speaking of the one on the right of course). In my rapid descent into becoming a middle-aged fogey and killjoy I had some misgivings about honoring the depiction of an apparently eager and fun-loving prostititute in my catalogue, but as in the complete innocence of my youth I had a terrific crush on her and everything that she promised, and as any painting this old that induces a crush in a modern person has to be included in a list like this, my scruples are thus pretty easily overcome.
I know nothing about this artist except that he is obviously influenced by Caravaggio and the rage for chiaroscuro (I am not going to look up the spelling; let it serve as a test of how much of a poser I am) and scenes of the dangerous and sordid life that were made popular by that master.

This is one of I believe only two pictures featuring superabundant cleavage on the list in case you were worried I was descending down a one-note path.

This girl facially resembles some girls I went to high school with and whom I cannot really imagine being older than 20, so supergirly were they in appearance and disposition. They constitute in some sense the backbone of the nation, though, albeit a little more shakily than their type was formerly wont. They are the most officious mothers and loyal (if given to frequent complaining) wives remaining among the populous. They willingly take on prodigious amounts of debt to maintain the appearances of middle-class prosperity that are probably beyond their means, as they and their husbands tend to be drawn from the tactile rather than the cerebral segments of the population, and however hard-working or skilled they may be, and however good a living they earn, their potential streams of income tend to be limited; and of course if the modern world and the future are about anything it is about having continually multiplying streams and sources of income flowing into one's coffers. But I have gotten way off the subject now.