An Old Woman Dozing over a Book  1655

Oil on canvas [br]overall: 82.2 x 67 cm In numerous paintings Maes explored the theme of a dozing woman who shirks her responsibilities. Here, the signs of sloth are subtle: the household keys, indicating worldly duties, dangle idly from a nail in the wall, and the opened Bible remains unread, suggesting that she has closed her eyes to the word of God. Many of the pr...