Updated October 2026 · ranked by our popularity score (searches, visits and orders for each work) · 499 works by Jan Steen in our catalogue
In short
If you know one Jan Steen painting, it's probably The Dissolute Household (1663), which hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The feast of Saint Nicholas (1670) and Merry Company on a Terrace (1670) round out the three pieces people recognise right away. Our catalogue has 499 works by Jan Steen. Below are the 100 people know best, each with its year, where to find it and what makes it special.
A Symphony of Chaos: Unveiling Jan Steen’s Masterpiece The Dissolute Household is not merely a painting; it is a theatrical performance frozen in time, a vibrant window into the boisterous and often unruly heart of the Dutch Golden Age. Created around 1663 by the incomparable Jan Havickszoon Steen, this work serves as a masterful exploration of human frailty, humor, and the delightful disorder of domestic life. As one gazes upon…
Step into this room and you are immediately caught in the middle of a Dutch household in mid-December. The air feels heavy with the scent of citrus and spiced bread. We are witnessing the Feast of Saint Nicholas, a tradition where the boundaries between reward and punishment are laid bare. In the foreground, a young girl holds a tin bucket overflowing with treats, her expression one of quiet triumph. Contrast…
In the heart of the seventeenth century, amidst the burgeoning prosperity of the Dutch Golden Age, Jan Havickszoon Steen captured a moment that transcends time. "Merry Company on a Terrace" is not merely a painting; it is a vibrant, breathing window into a world of conviviality and controlled chaos. As one gazes upon this monumental canvas, completed around 1670, the viewer is immediately swept into a bustling courtyard where the…
To gaze upon Jan Steen’s “The Dancing Couple” is to be instantly swept up in the boisterous, uninhibited spirit of a seventeenth-century Dutch kermis. Painted in 1663, this masterpiece serves as much more than a mere visual record of a village fair; it is an immersive sensory experience that captures the very heartbeat of the Dutch Golden Age. Steen, a master of the human comedy, avoids the stiff formality often…
A boisterous domestic interior unfolds in a dense, multi-layered composition, capturing a moment of chaotic conviviality. The scene centers on a family gathering where the boundaries between celebration and disorder are blurred. At the heart of the room, a laughing man—often identified as a self-portrait of the artist—gestures toward the folly of the assembly, while an elderly woman in the foreground examines a sheet of music. This document contains the…
The air in the room feels thick with the sudden, boisterous energy of the Merry family. Painted by Jan Steen in 1668, this scene captures a moment of unrestrained domestic life that seems to pulse with life even now. It is a genre painting, a window into the everyday realities of the Dutch Golden Age, where the boundaries between celebration and chaos blur. One can almost hear the sudden burst…
In the heart of the seventeenth century, amidst the burgeoning prosperity of the Netherlands, Jan Steen captured a world that was as chaotic as it was charming. His masterpiece, Village School, painted around 1670, serves as a vibrant portal into the daily rhythms of rural life during the Dutch Golden Age. Unlike the grand, often stiff historical allegories favored by some of his contemporaries, Steen possessed a singular gift for…
The air in the room feels heavy with the scent of spilled wine and the frantic energy of a household left to its own devices. At the center of this swirling commotion, a man sits with a sly smirk, his fingers entwined with those of a maid as she pours a generous serving of wine for his wife. The woman, seemingly oblivious to the flirtation unfolding beside her, remains focused…
In the quiet, shadowed corners of seventeenth-century Dutch life, Jan Steen captured moments that whispered of much more than what met the eye. His masterpiece, The Lovesick Maiden, painted around 1660, is far more than a mere domestic scene; it is a profound psychological drama staged within the intimate confines of a bourgeois interior. At first glance, the viewer is drawn to the central figure—a young woman slumped in a…
In the heart of the Dutch Golden Age, few artists could capture the delightful disorder of human existence as masterfully as Jan Havickszoon Steen. His 1674 masterpiece, “Revelry at an Inn,” invites the viewer into a boisterous, sensory-rich world that feels remarkably alive even centuries after its creation. This is not a painting of quiet contemplation or distant myth; rather, it is a vivid snapshot of a bustling tavern, where…
In Luxury, Look Out1663 · Kunsthistorisches Museum
12
Self-Portrait as a Lutenist1652 · Thyssen-Bornemisza-museet
13
A Merry Party (detail)1660 · Szépművészeti Múzeum
14
Samson and Delilah1668
15
The Feast of St. Nicholas1665 · Rijksmuseum
16
Boerenkermis1670 · Frans Hals Museum
17
A Goldsmith Melting Down a Woman's Jewellery in the Presence of a Notary, The Alchemist1668 · Städel Museum
18
The Oyster-eater1658 · Mauritshuis
19
A Merry Party (detail)1660 · Szépművészeti Múzeum
20
The Scholar and Death1660 · National Gallery Prague
21
The Smoker1660 · Kröller-Müller Museum
22
The Interior of an Inn1670 · National Gallery
23
Interior with a Woman Feeding a Parrot, Known as ‘The Parrot Cage’1665 · Rijksmuseum
24
Christ in the House of Mary and Martha1650 · Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
25
The Miser1650 · Statens Museum for Kunst
26
The Tempting Offer1650 · Kunsthalle Bremen
27
A Pedlar selling Spectacles outside a Cottage1652 · National Gallery
28
Esther before Ahasuerus1660 · Eremitasjen
29
A Children's Festival1660 · Musei di Strada Nuova
30
The bowlers, Jan Havicksz. Steen (copy after), 1658 - 17001700
31
An Interior with a Man offering an Oyster to a Woman1663 · National Gallery
32
Peasants merry-making outside an Inn1647 · National Gallery
33
Man with a fiddle in bad company, Jan Havicksz. Steen (copy after), 1670 - 17001700 · Rijksmuseum
34
The Christening Feast1660 · Finnish National Gallery
35
Singer with a Guitar1660 · Statens Museum for Kunst
36
The wedding party1660 · National Gallery of Victoria
37
Baker Oostwaert and his wife1658
38
Cat familySzépművészeti Múzeum
39
Ascagnes and Lucelle (The Music Lesson)1667 · National Gallery of Art
40
The Fortune Teller1650 · Philadelphia Museum of Art
41
Twelfth Night1660 · Los Angeles County Museum of Art
42
Young Girl Giving Alms to an Old Man1658 · Rijksmuseum
43
A Man Blowing Smoke at Drunken Woman1665 · National Gallery
44
Jacob Confronting Laban1676 · Norton Simon Museum
45
Smoker1650 · Eremitasjen
46
The Suitor1664 · Museum de Lakenhal
47
The village wedding1653 · Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
48
Moses Striking Water from the Rock1651 · Städel Museum
49
The Sense of Hearing1661 · Upton House
50
The Sense of Taste1661 · Upton House
51
The Sense of Smell1661 · Upton House
52
Bathsheba1668 · Norton Simon Museum
53
The Village Alchemist1664 · Wallace Collection
54
Merrymaking in a Tavern1674 · Wallace Collection
55
Itinerant Musicians1659 · Ascott House
56
As the Old Sing, So Pipe the Young1673 · Philadelphia Museum of Art
57
Cutting for the stone1909 · Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
58
Bathsheba after the Bath1670 · J. Paul Getty Museum
59
An Old Couple Making Caudle1668 · Mauritshuis
60
The Leiden Baner Arend Oosterwaert and His Wife Catharina Keyzerswaert1658 · Rijksmuseum
61
The Feast of Saint Nicholas1665
62
Interior with Peasants Eating and Drinking1650 · Frans Hals Museum
63
Couple reading the Bible1658 · Museum de Lakenhal
64
Cavalier Playing a Lute to a Lady (‘Lucelle and Ascagnes’)1660 · Scottish National Gallery
65
Two Men and a Young Woman making Music on a Terrace1670 · National Gallery
66
Couple at an Inn Table1660 · Statens Museum for Kunst
67
Rape of the Sabine Women1666 · John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
68
The Unruly Guest1665 · Städel Museum
69
Interior1660 · National Gallery of Victoria
70
Banquet of Anthony and Cleopatra1673 · The Leiden Collection
71
Tric-Trac Players1667 · Eremitasjen
72
Twelfth-Night Feast1666 · Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
73
The Doctor and His Patient
74
The Bean Feast1668 · Staatliche Museen Kassel
75
The Doctor's Visit1661 · Victoria and Albert Museum
76
The May Dance1647
77
Wooded Landscape with a Watermill1647
78
Landscape with Figures before a House1644
79
Under the Influence outside Voorschoten1640 · Museum Bredius
80
Portrait of Admiral Cornelis Evertsen the Elder1651
81
The Chicken Farmer1651
82
A village fair with a quack1650
83
A peasant couple carousing in an inn1660
84
A Merry Company at Table1660 · Museum der bildenden Künste
85
Tavern Scene by Candlelight1660
86
Grace before Meat1660
87
St. Nicolas Day1660
88
Easy come, easy go (The Artist eating Oysters)1660
89
The Traveller Resting1660 · Musée Fabre
90
After the Meal1660
91
Merry company in front of a inn1660 · Rijksmuseum Twenthe
92
Portrait of a Family on a Terrace1660
93
Girl with a Wreath1660
94
Fight in a Tavern1660
95
The Mennonite Sister1660
96
Rejected Female Suitor1660
97
Rejected Male Suitor1660
98
The Letter1660
99
A Merry Company with Music and Dancing1660 · Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg
100
Generosity of Scipio1660 · Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens
The four subjects that come up most often in these pieces, each with its best-known example.
The 8 museums that hold the most of the paintings on this page.
| Museum | City | Works by Jan Steen | Paintings from this list |
|---|---|---|---|
 National Gallery |
London | 10 | The Interior of an Inn, A Pedlar selling Spectacles outside a Cottage, An Interior with a Man offering an Oyster to a Woman |
 Rijksmuseum |
Amsterdam | 34 | The Feast of St. Nicholas, Interior with a Woman Feeding a Parrot, Known as ‘The Parrot Cage’, Man with a fiddle in bad company, Jan Havicksz. Steen (copy after), 1670 - 1700 |
 Mauritshuis |
Haag | 16 | 'As the Old Sing, so Pipe the Young', The Oyster-eater, An Old Couple Making Caudle |
 Eremitasjen |
St. Petersburg | 9 | Esther before Ahasuerus, Smoker, Tric-Trac Players |
 Metropolitan Museum of Art |
New York | 7 | The Dissolute Household, Merry Company on a Terrace, The Lovesick Maiden |
 Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen |
Rotterdam | 7 | The feast of Saint Nicholas, The village wedding, Cutting for the stone |
 Szépművészeti Múzeum |
Budapest | 5 | A Merry Party (detail), A Merry Party (detail), Cat family |
 Statens Museum for Kunst |
København | 5 | The Miser, Singer with a Guitar, Couple at an Inn Table |
Pick a decade to see its standout piece.
The scene unfolds beneath a heavy, leafy canopy that forms a natural ceiling over a group of figures gathered outside an inn. On the left, a large, dark tree trunk anchors the composition. The light appears to originate from an unseen source, perhaps the late afternoon sun, casting soft shadows across the ground and highlighting the textures of the subjects. A man wears a coarse waistcoat, while a woman is…
A Symphony of Chaos: Unveiling Jan Steen’s Masterpiece The Dissolute Household is not merely a painting; it is a theatrical performance frozen in time, a vibrant window into the boisterous and often unruly heart of the Dutch Golden Age. Created around 1663 by the incomparable Jan Havickszoon Steen, this work serves as a masterful exploration of human frailty, humor, and the delightful disorder of domestic life. As one gazes upon…
Step into this room and you are immediately caught in the middle of a Dutch household in mid-December. The air feels heavy with the scent of citrus and spiced bread. We are witnessing the Feast of Saint Nicholas, a tradition where the boundaries between reward and punishment are laid bare. In the foreground, a young girl holds a tin bucket overflowing with treats, her expression one of quiet triumph. Contrast…
Top of the list is The Dissolute Household (1663), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Right behind it: The feast of Saint Nicholas (1670) and Merry Company on a Terrace (1670).
37 years old. Jan Steen was born in 1626, and The Dissolute Household dates from 1663.
The Dissolute Household, The feast of Saint Nicholas, Merry Company on a Terrace, The Dancing Couple, 'As the Old Sing, so Pipe the Young', Merry family, Village school, Dissolute Household, The Lovesick Maiden and Revelry at an Inn. You'll find the year and the museum of each in the list above.
We have 499 works by Jan Steen in our catalogue, dated 1640 to 1676.
You'll find most of them in National Gallery (London), Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam) and Mauritshuis (Haag). The museum list above has the full breakdown.
In 1660s, more than any other time: 59 of the 100 pieces on this page date from then, The Dissolute Household among them.
The earliest piece here is Under the Influence outside Voorschoten (1640); the most recent is Jacob Confronting Laban (1676).
Man (24), Woman (22) and People (21), out of the 100 pieces on this page.
Oil On Canvas, used in 42 of the 100 pieces on this page.
Baroque realism, as you can see in the pieces on this page.
You can see 6 of the pieces on this page at the National Gallery, London, including The Interior of an Inn, A Pedlar selling Spectacles outside a Cottage and An Interior with a Man offering an Oyster to a Woman.
Yes. Every painting on this page is available as a hand-painted oil reproduction or a print, in the size that suits you. Just open the painting's page to order.
Jan Steen ble født i Leiden rundt 1626 inn i en familie som forsto de sosiale sammenkomstenes mekanismer. Som den eldste av minst åtte barn ble oppveksten hans formet av de kommersielle realitetene til hans far, Havick Steen. Havick var kornhandler og brygger som drev vertshuset Red Halbert. Dette hjemlige miljøet, dypt forankret i det katolske miljøet i Leiden, ga ham et direkte innblikk i de livlige og ofte kaotiske sosiale samhandlingene som senere skulle definere hans kunstneriske virke. Han var ikke bare en tilskuer til dette livet; han var et produkt av det.
Hans formelle utdanning og profesjonelle registrering avslører en mann som beveget seg gjennom de strukturerte intellektuelle systemene og laugene i Den nederlandske republikk. Steen ble registrert ved universitetet i Leiden i 1646. Innen 1648 hadde han oppnådd status som mestermaler gjennom sin registrering i Ludvig-lauget i Leiden. Denne overgangen fra student til anerkjent fagmann markerer begynnelsen på en karriere bygget på teknisk legitimitet snarere enn bare observasjon.
Detaljene rundt hans tidlige opplæring forblir et spørsmål om historisk deduksjon snarere enn dokumentert visshet. Selv om ingen offisielle lærlingprotokoller er bevart, antyder utviklingen i hans ferdigheter at han absorberte metodene til flere betydningsfulle skikkelser. Han hentet sannsynligvis teknisk kunnskap fra Jan van Goyen, Nicolaus Knüpfer og Adriaen van Ostade. Disse innflytelsene la grunnlaget for en stil som etter hvert ville prioritere de psykologiske nyansene i menneskelig atferd fremfor de storslåtte allegoriene som hans samtidige foretrakk.
Steens karriere var preget av en rastløs vandring gjennom de urbane sentrene i Den nederlandske republikken. Han forble ikke forankret på ett enkelt sted, men flyttet i stedet bosted etter hvert som hans profesjonelle liv utviklet seg. I 1649 giftet han seg med Margaretha van Goyen i Haag, en forbindelse som knyttet ham til datidens innflytelsesrike kunstneriske kretser. Denne perioden i livet hans var preget av en nomadisk yrkesutøvelse, hvor han beveget seg mellom ulike byer for å etablere sitt rykte og navigere etter kunstmarkedets skiftende krav.
Hans bevegelser er dokumentert med stor presisjon på tvers av flere nøkkelregioner. Mellom 1656 og 1660 var han aktiv i Warmond. Dette ble etterfulgt av et tiår tilbrakt i Haarlem, hvor han var bosatt fra 1661 til 1670. Dette tiåret i Haarlem representerer en betydelig del av hans produktive år, en periode hvor han sementerte sin posisjon i den nederlandske kunstscenen. Til slutt vendte han tilbake til sin fødeby, og bodde i Leiden fra 1670 frem til sin død.
Denne geografiske mobiliteten var ikke bare et spørsmål om personlige preferanser, men reflekterte de praktiske realitetene for en yrkesmaler på 1600-tallet. Hans evne til å tilpasse seg ulike urbane miljøer – fra den spesialiserte atmosfæren i Haarlem til de etablerte tradisjonene i Leiden – gjorde det mulig for ham å opprettholde en jevn produksjon til tross for hyppige flyttinger. Hans liv var en serie overganger mellom bryggerinæringen og de profesjonelle laugstrukturene i byene han beboet.
Jan Steens visuelle språk hviler på en skarp humoristisk sans og en dyp psykologisk innsikt som trenger helt gjennom overflaten i hans skildringer. Han nøyer seg ikke med å bare avbilde mennesker; han fanger de spesifikke, ofte kaotiske, menneskelige impulsene som driver dem. Hans tidlige komposisjoner fra 1640-tallet lente seg mot det groteske, der han benyttet overdrevne og forvrengte figurer for å fremme sine fortellinger. Denne rå, nesten sjokkerende tilnærmingen til karakterisering la selve fundamentet for de mer nyanserte sosiale observasjonene som skulle komme til å definere hans senere virke.
Kunstnerens bruk av farger er både selvsikker og overveldende. Han tar i bruk en bred palett for å skille mellom teksturene i det hjemlige liv og den kaotiske energien i et overfylt rom. Etter hvert som karrieren hans skred frem, gjennomgikk den tekniske utførelsen en tydelig endring. De tunge, tidvis grove karakteriseringene fra ungdomstiden vek plass for en mer raffinert estetikk. Hans senere verk preges av færre og mer individualiserte skikkelser, og beveger seg bort fra de trengte, groteske komposisjonene fra hans tidlige år mot en stil definert av større verdighet og mer subtile fargepaletter.
Denne utviklingen gjenspeiler en overgang fra ungdomstidens direkte satire til en mer sofistikert metode for sosial kommentar. Ved å foredle penselstrøkene sine og fokusere på det unike i det individuelle uttrykket, beveget han seg fra å skildre arketyper til å skildre virkelige mennesker. Resultatet er et kunstnerskap som balanserer menneskelig adferds absurditet med en kontrollert og bevisst teknisk presisjon.
Steens kunstnerskap forblir betydningsfullt fordi han forankret sine fortellinger i den rotete og usminkede virkeligheten i det 17. århundres liv. I The Doctor's Visit beveger han seg forbi det enkle portrettet for å skape en scene med psykologisk dybde og moralske undertoner. Denne evnen til å finne tyngde i det hverdagslige er tydelig i The Oyster-eater, datert til rundt 1658, som fanger et spesifikt og livlig øyeblikk av nederlandsk sosial interaksjon. Disse verkene støtter seg ikke på storslåtte allegorier; de henter sin kraft fra spenningen mellom karakterene og deres umiddelbare omgivelser.
Kunstneren brukte ofte kaos for å belyse menneskelige feiltrinn. The Dissolute Household (1663) og The Merry Family (1668) fungerer som visuelle studier av uorden, der han benytter livlige og larmende settinger for å fremprovosere refleksjon over konsekvensene av overflod. Selv i mer strukturerte komposisjoner, som The Dancing Couple fra 1663, forblir fokuset på de spesifikke, flyktige gestene til motivene. Hans arbeider fra midten av 1660-tallet, inkludert The Feast of St. Nicholas (ca. 1665), demonstrerer en mestring av farge og lys som gjør at disse sosiale observasjonene består gjennom tidene.
