A Woman Cooking, Plate 3 from "Five Feminine Occupations" 1635 - 1657

Geertruydt Roghman etched "A Woman Cooking" in the mid-17th century, a plate from her series on feminine occupations. At first glance, a simple domestic scene, but observe the details: the hanging sausages and cooking implements, symbols of sustenance and daily life. The hearth itself is an ancient symbol of home and nourishment, and the presence of a lit candle suggests both domesticity and hidden alchemical processes. These are a connection to the sacred fire of Vesta, the Roman goddess of the hearth, whose flame was a symbol of the state and family. This archetype of woman and hearth has shifted over time, seen in Paleolithic fertility figures, and later, the Madonna. Across cultures, these evoke a sense of primal comfort, of being cared for. Yet the turned back and hunched posture of Roghman's cook suggests a weight, a burden—perhaps the unspoken emotional toil of domestic life, an echo resonating through centuries. As such, the image serves as a cyclical return to the earliest representations of our collective consciousness.