The Queen's Obscene Painting

Today’s page of UNCLE JOHN’S BATHROOM READER PAGE-A-DAY Calendar has an interesting article:  English art restorers cleaned up the painting A VILLAGE FAIR, WITH A CHURCH BEHIND by artist Isaak van Ostade, 1643, owned by Queen Elizabeth.  While restoring it they noticed one area the brush strokes were of a different pattern than the rest of the painting.  It was like they were covering up something.  They removed the mysterious strokes to see what was underneath:  a man with his pants down squatting relieving himself.    That was a popular trade mark of the artist to show in nature paintings humans doing nature-type of things.

Above is the painting.  I studied it for the dirty parts and had no luck.