Jan Havicksz Steen is a painter from the Dutch town of Leiden. He began his painting studies relatively late, at the age of twenty. His training was quick and superficial, although he had good teachers — one of the renowned classical masters (Knoepfer, van Ostade or Hals — historians disagree here).
In 1648, Steen joined the Leiden painters’ guild. A year later he got married and moved to the Hague, where he worked for several years. Painting did not bring sufficient income, and sometimes he was forced to sell his paintings for pennies. Therefore, from time to time, Steen tried to get back into the family business of brewing beer. For example, he set up a brewery in Delft, but did not succeed and turned his attention back to painting.
In 1672, Steen bought a license to open a tavern in Leiden, which he ran for the rest of his life, combining his artistic and tavern trades. Working in the tavern, he was able to closely observe people, their reactions, characters and relationships — and later transfer everything he saw onto canvas.
Jan Havicksz Steen was one of the wittiest masters of Dutch genre painting, and he also resorted to social satire. He mostly painted middle and lower classes of the bourgeoisie. And if he chose to paint biblical motifs, he did so with a certain amount of humor.
In 1648, Steen joined the Leiden painters’ guild. A year later he got married and moved to the Hague, where he worked for several years. Painting did not bring sufficient income, and sometimes he was forced to sell his paintings for pennies. Therefore, from time to time, Steen tried to get back into the family business of brewing beer. For example, he set up a brewery in Delft, but did not succeed and turned his attention back to painting.
In 1672, Steen bought a license to open a tavern in Leiden, which he ran for the rest of his life, combining his artistic and tavern trades. Working in the tavern, he was able to closely observe people, their reactions, characters and relationships — and later transfer everything he saw onto canvas.
Jan Havicksz Steen was one of the wittiest masters of Dutch genre painting, and he also resorted to social satire. He mostly painted middle and lower classes of the bourgeoisie. And if he chose to paint biblical motifs, he did so with a certain amount of humor.
A brawl in a tavern, “A fight” is one of the artist’s main pictorial themes. The picture from this series shows one character strangling the other, who will not let go of his knife. The man in the beret is trying to separate them. A shouting man in a tilted hat rushes toward them with birch twigs in one hand and a jug in the other. The multi-figured composition is presented in several scenes and contains a number of narrative fragments.
According to the tradition of the Dutch art school, the paintings were to be edifying: a tobacco pipe, a knife, cards, a broken bottle — the floor is strewn with the paraphernalia of the sinner. A tattered hat, an overturned barrel, and a shoe in the foreground complete the picture of mayhem. The toilet pot right next to the table indicates that the characters of such scenes were not ashamed of their natural needs.
This work shows Steen’s characteristic interweaving of grace and diversity of style with crude, frivolous humor and elements of the grotesque. In his best works, the artist surpassed his contemporaries with a successful combination of color palettes and masterful skill of chiaroscuro. The artist produced about 400 paintings in his lifetime.
According to the tradition of the Dutch art school, the paintings were to be edifying: a tobacco pipe, a knife, cards, a broken bottle — the floor is strewn with the paraphernalia of the sinner. A tattered hat, an overturned barrel, and a shoe in the foreground complete the picture of mayhem. The toilet pot right next to the table indicates that the characters of such scenes were not ashamed of their natural needs.
This work shows Steen’s characteristic interweaving of grace and diversity of style with crude, frivolous humor and elements of the grotesque. In his best works, the artist surpassed his contemporaries with a successful combination of color palettes and masterful skill of chiaroscuro. The artist produced about 400 paintings in his lifetime.
