Steen
Jan Steen
1625/1626-1679
Steen was born in Leyden about 1626 and was buried there in 1679. He is recorded as a student at Leyden University in 1646. Steen's earliest art instruction is less firmly documented, but was probably provided by Nicolaus Knüpfer of Utrecht. He then worked under Adriaen van Ostade in Haarlem, and at The Hague with Jan van Goyen, who became Steen's father-in-law. In 1648 the artist was one of the founding members of the Leyden Guild of St. Luke. From 1649 to 1654 he is mentioned at The Hague. He also lived in Delft (1654-56), Warmond (1656-60) and Haarlem (1661-70), before returning permanently to Leyden. Steen's father was a brewer; and the artist continued the family trade as manager of a Delft brewery from 1654 to 1657. In the 1670s he was active as an inn-keeper. He served as an officer of the Leyden painters' guild in 1672-73 and was made dean the following year. Steen's travels and occupations suggest a restlessness and vitality which also characterized his prolific art. The artist's roguish, Molière-like wit appears time and again in his scenes from daily life, the theater, and in depictions of proverbs, in which the artist and his family are often included. Even Steen's Biblical and mythological scenes did not escape his irony. The artist's early works include landscapes with small figures, such as K1987. In his later paintings, Steen left the boisterous world of taverns and rollicking family life to depict the quieter, more elegant surroundings of the upper bourgeoisie. In line with his subjects, these works are characterized by paler colors, thinner facture and less crowded composition. His scintillating colour and wit were much admired in early eighteenth-century France and were revived by such artists as Gillot and Watteau.
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