Girl with a Distaff
by CERUTI, Giacomo, Oil on canvas, 48 x 39 cm
The young peasant girl rests her head in her palm, in a pose taken from depictions of ‘Melancholia,’ and the resignation reflected in her face may conjure up a similar mood. The distaff, so prominent in the painting, is a traditional symbol of women’s work as well as an attribute of the Fate Clotho.. It was also part of the iconography used in depictions of courtesans and brothels in Venetian art.