Two Men with Woman and Child in an Inn

Bega’s main subjects were taverns, domestic interiors, and villages, with characters ranging from nursing mothers and prostitutes to gamblers and alchemists. Between about 1660 and 1664, his genre scenes became less populated, more emotionally expressive, and more focused on the fine details of object textures.

In this work, which is set in a tavern interior, a mother and child form part of a pyramidal grouping. The contrasts of light and dark are emphasized to an even greater degree because Bega has purposefully left foreground elements in an unfinished state. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Bega's etchings of peasant life do not necessarily demand a moralizing interpretation.