De haringkoopvrouw

About this work

A woman in a dark bonnet holds up a herring, eyes sharp, while a boy in a red cap offers more from a basket. The street is dim, the fish glistening. This was breakfast food—fresh, cheap, eaten by everyone in 17th-century Holland. On Fridays, Catholics skipped meat and bought extra fish, so the market stayed busy all day. The artist never signed the work, but the details feel real: the way light catches the scales, the woman’s no-nonsense stare. Look up more everyday scenes like this at the Rijksmuseum.