Jan Steen

Jan Steen was a Dutch genre painter of the Dutch Golden Age 17th century. Psychological insight, sense of humour and abundance of colour are marks of his art. Daily life was Jan Steen's main pictorial theme. Many of the genre scenes he portrayed, as in The Feast of Saint Nicholas, are lively to the point of chaos and lustfulness. Many of Steen's paintings bear references to old Dutch proverbs or literature. He often used members of his family as models, and painted quite a few self-portraits in which he showed no tendency of vanity. Steen painted also historical, mythological and religious scenes, portraits, still lifes and natural scenes. His portraits of children are famous. He is also well known for his mastery of light and attention to detail, most notably in persian rugs and other textiles. He was prolific, producing about 800 paintings, of which roughly 350 survive. He did not have many students but his work proved a source of inspiration for many painters.