In einem Zimmer mit einem Betthimmel liebkost ein Mann eine junge Frau 

Johannes Pieter de Frey created this engraving of a man embracing a young woman in a bedchamber sometime between 1770 and 1834. The scene hints at the clandestine relationships that were a recurring theme in Dutch art. This image creates meaning through familiar visual codes, cultural references, and historical associations. Its knowing portrayal of courtship plays with well-established stereotypes, and the setting could represent a brothel, a site of shifting social and moral boundaries. The popularity of such imagery can be attributed to the social and economic structures of the Dutch Republic. During this time, a wealthy merchant class began to assert its influence through new patronage of the arts. To understand this work better, we can consult period sources that shed light on the lives of women, as well as the shifting meanings attached to spaces of intimacy. Ultimately, it is the historian who brings to light the social and institutional contexts that are crucial to understanding art.