Mother Combing the Hair of Her Child
by TERBORCH, Gerard, Oil on panel, 34 x 29 cm
This painting is also known as Hunting for Lice. The models for the painting are probably the stepmother and one of the half-brothers of the artist.
The painting probably contains a moral, as maternal care, orderliness and cleanliness were the ideal qualities of a good housewife. In the seventeenth century, the lice comb stood for both a clean appearance and a pure character.