Dutch painting trivia (Or: Next to ‘Girl with a pearl earring’)

I am sure a lot of you know the painting ‘Girl with a pearl earring’ in The Hague, painted by Vermeer.

But do you know what painting is next to it in the room?

It’s a head scratcher.

‘Mother combing her child’s hair’. Not too noteworthy, right?

Except she is not holding a comb.

The sub title is ‘Hunting for Lice’.

Yep.

I wonder if that was deliberate to keep the line moving after you study the Girl with a pearl earring. Though the painting is beautiful in its own right.