The Regents of the Spinhuis and Nieuwe Werkhuis, Amsterdam, Karel du Jardin, 1669
oil on canvas, h 225cm × w 390cm More details
A servant bringing a letter temporarily interrupts a meeting. The other five men are the regents of the Amsterdam Spinhuis, the female house of correction. The women imprisoned there for theft or begging spent most of their days spinning. Affluent citizens like these gentlemen administered these sorts of institutions. Thus was civic peace maintained.
