MOREELSE, Paulus
(b. 1571, Utrecht, d. 1638, Utrecht)

A Girl with a Mirror (Allegory of Profane Love)

1627
Oil on canvas, 106 x 83 cm
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

The protagonist in this painting is a voluptuous young woman invitingly displaying her décolleté. The objects on the table (gold jewellery, strings of pearls, a leather case with three gold rings set with precious stones, and a small open book identify the maiden as a personification of profane love, or the Profane Venus. The subject of the painting on the back wall and the text and image in the little book complete the composition. They allude to Eros, the longing for material wealth and sexual desire.