A mother giving birth to a baby. Oil painting, 1800.

The painting is first recorded being carried under the arm of "a man" who was walking along the street in Stockholm. The proud father is on the left, the woman giving birth is in the centre, and on the right is a caricature of a midwife or wisewoman. Right, a standing figure pouring water into a bowl: she may be a personification of Hygiene, as a similar figure appears on a Wedgwood plaque of the goddess Hygieia. At the same time she is the maid who is preparing to wash the baby. The furniture is of an advanced neo-classical type: it would be slightly surprising if such furniture were in Åbo at the time