A Mother Delousing her Child’s Hair, Known as ‘A Mother’s Duty’

Unknown artist

A mother thoroughly inspects her child’s head for lice. She pursues her task in a sober Dutch interior, with Delft blue tiles and a box bed. In the right foreground is a ‘kakstoel’, or potty chair. Through the doorway is a glimpse of a sunny back room and a garden. De Hooch specialized in such ‘through-views’.