Plate 6; Bertoldo hidden in a furnace
1705-1715
Poor Bertoldo is curled up inside a brick furnace like a human loaf of bread, desperately trying to hide! This humorous illustration, Plate 6 from a series by Giuseppe Maria Crespi, depicts a scene from a famous Italian novella where the witty peasant flees his furious wife. The Italian caption at the bottom delivers a sharp punchline: since a woman's anger is like fire, she will track him down in the oven anyway. It’s a delightful example of Baroque genre art that focuses on everyday comedy rather than grand religious themes.