Born in Leiden, the Netherlands in 1626 to a prosperous family of brewers, Steen enrolled at Leiden University in 1646. By 1648, he had become one of the founding members of the city’s Guild of Saint Luke. During his career he lived and worked in The Hague, Delft, Haarlem and his native Leiden, while also managing breweries and taverns. These experiences informed his intimate understanding of daily life, providing the inspiration for the bustling households and convivial drinking scenes for which he became renowned.
So distinctive were his witty, chaotic compositions that the Dutch still use the expression ‘a Jan Steen household’ to describe a lively, disordered home. Yet beneath the humour, his paintings are layered with symbolism, proverbs and references to theatre and literature, inviting reflection on virtue and folly. Masterpieces such as The Dissolute Household (c.1663), The Feast of Saint Nicholas (c.1665) and The Merry Family (1668) demonstrate the artist's ability to transform everyday moments into enduring reflections on the human condition.
Steen died in Leiden in 1679. Among the finest Dutch genre paintings, his works continue to captivate audiences and are held in major collections worldwide, including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Mauritshuis in The Hague and the National Gallery in London.
Jan Havicksz. Steen (Leiden 1626-1679)
Boors playing a game of beugelen before a country inn, onlookers smoking beyond
Jan Steen (Leiden 1626-1679)
Prayer before a Meal
JAN STEEN (LEIDEN 1625/6-1679)
A village fair with a pamphleteer
Jan Steen (Leiden 1626-1679)
A Village Wedding
JAN STEEN (LEIDEN 1626-1679)
Christ in the House of Mary and Martha
Jan Steen (Leiden 1626-1679)
An amorous couple in a landscape
Jan Steen (Leiden 1626-1679)
Children teasing a cat
Jan Havicksz. Steen (Leiden 1626-1679)
A cock fight in a tavern
Jan Steen (Leiden 1626-1679)
The Proposition: figures in an interior
JAN STEEN (LEIDEN 1626-1679)
A fortune teller and peasants before an inn with a river landscape beyond
JAN STEEN (LEIDEN 1626-1679)
A tavern interior with a woman smoking a pipe and a man cutting tobacco
JAN STEEN (LEYDE 1626-1679)
Portrait d'un homme, en buste
Jan Havickz. Steen (Leiden 1641-1676)
The village wedding - an oil sketch
Jan Steen (Leiden 1626-1679)
The Flight into Egypt
Attributed to Jan Havickz. Steen (Leiden 1641-1676)
A Sketch: A peasant wedding in a village
Attributed to Jan Havicksz. Steen (Leiden 1626-1679)
A peasant woman with a boy trying to look under her skirt
Circle of Jan Steen (Leiden 1626-1679)
An Allegory of Taste
After Jan Steen
A tavern interior with figures playing a game and a dog
Circle of Jan Steen (Leiden 1626-1679)
A seated man wearing a hat, leaning over to pick up a pitcher
Circle of Jan Steen (Leiden 1626-1679)
A merry company eating and drinking in an interior
ATTRIBUTED TO JAN STEEN (LEIDEN 1626-1679)
A drunk young man leaning on a barrel and an elderly lady stealing his purse
Manner of Jan Steen
The crab seller
Follower of Jan Havicksz. Steen
The Lute Player
After Jan Steen
The old bachelor
Follower of Jan Havicksz Steen
A couple merrymaking
Follower of Jan Steen
Figures dining in an interior
JAN STEEN (LEIDEN 1626-1679)
Prayer before a meal