Now housed at the Royal Picture Gallery, Mauritshuis in The Hague, Netherlands, this masterpiece of the Dutch Golden Age is by one of the few celebrated female artists of the time. It depicts a demure woman sewing by a candle as a man leans over her, touching her shoulder with his left hand and offering her money with his right as she ignores him, concentrating on what she’s doing. Many have interpreted this as simple courtship with an uninterested woman, but some have seen the moody lighting and brooding tones on the man to imply something more sinister. The woman has a coal foot warmer under her skirt which was visual code at the time for a lady who is married and unavailable.