“The Game of ‘Lady, come into the Garden'” by Godfried Schalcken, late 1660sSchalcken’s biogra

“The Game of ‘Lady, come into the Garden'” by Godfried Schalcken, late 1660sSchalcken’s biographer, Houbraken, also provides the best information as the events depicted in this bizarre gathering:In the cabinet of Mr. Joh. Van Schuilenburg hangs the representation of a certain game that the youngsters of Dordrecht would commonly play at that time, whenever they gathered with each other to have fun together, called ‘Lady come into the Garden’ (Vrouwtje kom ten Hoof). He [Schalcken] portrayed himself dressed in his shirtsleeves and underwear and seated against the lap of a girl. The other faces are also portraits, and were recognized by all at the time.’ (The Great Theatre of Netherlandish Painters and Paintresses, 1718-21)With so many innocent-looking Dutch scenes turning out to be brothels it seems counter-intuitive to suggest that this risqué horse-play is in fact innocent, but this is what Houbraken says and he remains our best witness. It should be said that respectable Dutch women were famous for their apparent licence and real chastity. The English naturalist John Ray (1627-1705) remarked in his Observations of 1763 on their habit of kissing, ‘frequently used among themselves either in frolics or upon departures and returns though never so short’. They are certainly frolicking in this painting but what are they doing? What are the rules of this game ‘Lady Come into the Garden’? Presumably the young man (a self-portrait) is set a series of tests, failure in which results in his surrendering an item of clothing until he reduced to the state visible here, stripped to the undergarments. We can be confident and relieved that this is not going any further, as the girl behind, said to be the artist’s sister, Maria, beckons to the next victim. Schalcken appeals to the audience as if to say, ‘Women! They’ll have your shirt!’Text adapted from The Conversation Piece: Scenes of fashionable life, London, 2009 (source)So basically, the history of strip poker. -- source link

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