Sleeper Awakened by a Young Woman with Fire

A comic scene unfolds before the viewer. A soldier has dozed off during a game of cards, and a prostitute is preparing to play him a prank. He is about to be burnt on the lit roll of tobacco paper she is holding under his nose, a symbolic act with erotic overtones. With a gesture enjoining silence, the woman invites us to share in the joke. Soldiers were often portrayed in dubious situations suggestive of folly.

Credit: Gift 2011 Nationalmusei Vänner