Harringay House Painting: Jan Steen, A Peasant Family at Meal-time ('Grace before Meat')

"In a quiet, dark room, a little girl folds her hands to say grace. She looks straight ahead as she has been taught to do when at prayer by her mother – her gaze is fixed so that nothing can tempt her away from her devotions. Books of emblems and instruction from the church laid emphasis on the importance of the family in the teaching of morals and guiding the spirit of the child to the right path. For a girl, this meant marriage, motherhood and the family." (National Gallery)

Now in the National Gallery.