The Oyster Eater (Dutch: Het oestereetstertje) or Girl Offering Oysters (Meisje, oesters aanbiedend) is a small oil-on-panel painting by Jan Steen dating to c.1658–1660. Since 1936, it has been in the collection of the Mauritshuis in the Hague. It is a genre painting that demonstrates Steen's intricate style and use of domestic settings. It also shows Steen's use of symbolism with oysters to create a theme of earthly lust. Visual analysis Subject matter The main subject of the painting is a young woman salting oysters while making direct eye contact with the viewer. Her expression is flirtatious and communicates to viewers that she is salting the oysters for them. Composition In The Oyster Eater, Steen uses framing to create a complicated yet skillful composition. He uses the vertical and horizontal lines of the door frame, bed curtains, and the edge of the table to create an imaginary border around the young woman. The arched top of the painting reflects the curvature of the girl's head and left shoulder. The placement of objects such as the oyster point in a specific direction, allowing the viewer's eye to focus on the figures in the back room. The placement of the background figures in a separate room is common in Dutch paintings and is referred to as doorsien (view through a doorway). This technique also allows the viewer's eye to plunge into the background of a painting. Artists like Steen added doorsien to paintings to create an atmosphere of diligence and desire among the subjects. The use of doorsien also adds a sense of balance between the men in the background and the young woman in the foreground. Symbolism In the context of this painting, the oysters convey an erotic meaning. Oysters are thought to be an aphrodisiac, the most seductive being the ones that are rich and full. Empty oyster shells or oysters placed alongside other partially eaten items like in The Oyster Eater imply the temporariness of earthly pleasures, a commonly repeated theme in Dutch art. During the seventeenth century, shells started to make appearances in several Dutch genre paintings or merry company paintings. They were objects of scientific interest to the Dutch who were interested in science and history. Oysters also held an exotic connotation as many featured in Dutch paintings were from different continents, and they were used because they were seen as ancient souvenirs of the past. In