JAN STEEN (1626-1679)

Jan Steen was a man who lived an unusual life in comparison to his colleagues. He grew up in Leiden, Holland in 1626, where his father was a brewer who owned a tavern named “The Red Halbert”. Steen was taught by german painter Nicolaes Knupfer who was well known for his “historical and figurative scenes in Utrecht”. As an observer, I can pinpoint characteristics such as composition and use of colour where Steen took influence from Knupfer’s teachings. Unlike other artists who only had one occupation- art, Jan Steen relied on his brewery background as a source of second income where in 1654 he ran a tavern named “De Slang” and opened another after the “Year of Disaster” in 1672. Jan Steen was not rich for most of his lifetime, thus had to compensate through his art, which Steen was able to produce approximately 800 paintings in his career.

By looking at Steen’s work, I can very much tell that he was an artist during the Baroque period. Steen’s works are very good at showing movement, as each of his paintings were mainly influenced by the chaos of social gatherings like in “The Dancing Couple” where a group of people look to be having intoxicated fun at a local bar. “Rhetoricians at a Window” is one of my personal favourites because it shows a strong sense of Steen’s humorous style. It may be because of the man in the back poking his cheek and grinning, or the contrast between the man proudly reading out a story and the man to his right looking in complete boredom, but this painting radiates a fun and playful attitude. Despite the fact that Steen likes to paint more chaotic and fun settings, he has painted a couple serious paintings in his lifetime such as “The Lovesick Maiden”.

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jan-Havickszoon-Steen

https://www.tripimprover.com/blog/rhetoricians-at-the-window-by-jan-steen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Steen