Portrait of Hadriaan Beverland with a Prostitute c. 1676

This striking panel painting shows the eccentric Beverland with a wine glass and a pipe. Sitting next to him is a prostitute. This portrayal was a deliberate provocation. Done in various shades of brown (the so-called brunaille technique), the painting is a preparatory study for the frontispiece of Beverland’s planned edition of erotic texts, De prostibulis veterum (On the brothels of the ancients). Even though it never appeared in print, this ‘book’ lies open on the table!