 The dog behind the chair is reminiscent of many similar depictions of domestic scenes of the time, but here it is a scruffy cur rather than a pampered spaniel.Nevertheless, the stiff upright pose of the girl is more suggestive of a formal setting than of the louche atmosphere of a brothel.The painting hints at the underlying sensuality, with the large bed looming over the scene, the accoutrements of female beauty on the table, and the abundant feathers in the soldier's cap, but this does not rule out a formal scene, as Ter Borch's contemporaries would have been aware of the ultimate similarities between the two situations.