This is an oil on canvas painting in the manner or style of Gerrit Dou (1613-1675) depicting a young woman chopping onions in the inset of a stone window ledge. The painting seems to possibly be a reverse image of the famous Gerrit Dou painting in the Royal Collection of “Girl Chopping Onions,” however, the addition of a bunch of peppers hanging in the window and the bronze mortar and pestle to the foreground are additions.

There is significant symbolism within the painting which may be helpful to explain. The young woman looks directly at us, the viewer. Onions were considered an aphrodisiac in the 17th Century Netherlands. The empty birdcage hanging above the woman’s head is a symbol of her lost virtue. Both the peppers and the pestle have phallic symbolism. The woman is preparing onion soup for a meal and is open to a romantic dalliance. She is looking directly at the viewer beckoning them on.

The painting is on canvas and has been relined. There are some old repairs with some fill-in and touch-up to a few areas of the painting, but it is in overall good condition. The painting is mounted in a contemporary artisan custom-made Dutch style ripple molded frame after a frame in the Rijksmuseum housing a Rembrandt painting. The painting measures approximately 10” x 8” and overall with the frame measures approximately 19 1/2” x 17”.

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