A seventeenth-century etching by Simon Guillain depicting a street vendor advertising mouse-food with a flag.

This etching by Simon Guillain, dated 1646, belongs to a series documenting the street vendors and common tradespeople of seventeenth-century Paris. The figure is depicted from behind, wearing a simple hat and a cloak, carrying a shallow bowl in his hands. A flag attached to his back displays crude drawings of mice, serving as a visual advertisement for his wares. The composition is stark and functional, focusing on the silhouette and the specific accoutrements of the vendor's trade.

Guillain, primarily known as a sculptor, produced this series of etchings after the designs of Annibale Carracci. The work captures the social reality of the period, documenting the informal economy of the city streets. The lines are precise and clean, characteristic of the etching technique employed during this era to reproduce drawings for wider circulation. The background is minimal, using diagonal hatching to suggest a wall, which keeps the focus entirely on the vendor. The inclusion of the number 17 in the lower left corner and the artist's initials in the lower right corner are standard features of this print series. This piece offers a glimpse into the daily life of the urban poor, presented without romanticism or excessive detail. It is a document of historical costume and trade, reflecting the observational interests of the Baroque period in the mundane activities of the populace.