Jan the Man
Jan Steen was a Dutch genre painter born in Leiden to a successful brewing family. When he turned 20 he enrolled in the University of Leiden and 2 years later he had become a founding member of the Leiden Painter’s Guild of St. Luke. It is believed that his artistic education came from Nicolaus Knupfer, Adriaen van Ostade, and Jan van Goyen. Jan Steen would eventually come to marry Jan van Goyen’s daughter, Margaretha. On top of painting, he would also tavernkeep for a time. This only reinforced his reputation as a “dissolute drunkard”.
Jan Steen mostly painted the affairs of everyday life. Notably he would paint scenes from inside a tavern. He was known for the humour he was able to inject into his paintings.
Peasants before an Inn is a typical genre painting by Jan Steen. We see a jovial scene of dancing peasants. Our eye is drawn towards the woman in the white dress.
The Merry family sets the scene of a celebrating family. It is an excellent example of Jan Steen’s ability to convey positive emotion.
Fun fact: Beware of Luxury was one of the first paintings to have been titled by the artist. You can see its dutch title on the bottom right. It reads “Het vrolijke huisgezin.” Here we have a scene where celebrations seem to have gone a tad too wild.
The Dancing Couple depicts a celebration in which music is being played, people are dancing and feasting. My favorite part about this painting is that the woman looks seemingly disinterested in the whole affair.
Skittles Players outside an Inn showcases youth playing a bowling game called Skittles. Even though the palette is darker than the previous paintings, Jan Steen is still able to use a wide array of colours. I wonder if the candy got the name from the game.
I appreciate Jan Steen’s ability to convey a feeling throughout all of his genre paintings. He conveyed the essence of “the party” so well that unkempt homes became known as a “Jan Steen Household”
You can see more of his work HERE!
Sources
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jan-Havickszoon-Steen
- https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio/artists/jan-havicksz-steen
- http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/artists/181/jan-steen-dutch-1626-1679/
- https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1901.html
- https://www.theleidencollection.com/artists/jan-steen/
Dallas,
Again solid work with your post on Steen. What I like about your writing is the humorous appeal it has along with the interesting and insightful information. Keep it up moving forward.
Jeff
Thanks Jeff!