- For the first time in book form, presenting history-pieces by Jan
Steen - 17th century paintings from the Dutch Golden Age - Contributions
by Ariane van Suchtelen, Wouter Kloek and Mariët Westermann Jan Steen,
one of the most popular painters of the Dutch Golden Age, is known for
his humorous depictions of dissolute households, tavern interiors,
quacksalvers and love-sick young women. He was unrivalled in poking fun
at every conceivable human weakness and vice. A lesser known fact is
that he also painted history pieces: scenes based on episodes from the
Bible, apocryphal writings and mythology - stories full of excitement,
drama and passion. As he did in his genre pieces, Steen devoted a great
deal of attention in his history paintings to the interaction between
the figures, and was keenly aware of the satirical possibilities of
every story. In contrast to what his later image suggests, Jan Steen was
a versatile and ambitious artist with a profound knowledge of art
history and literature: knowledge that comes to the fore in his history
pieces. This richly illustrated publication, written by experts on Jan
Steen, focuses on this little-known part of the artist's oeuvre.
Contents: Introduction followed by three essays on Jan Steen's history
pieces, followed by a catalogue that discusses a selection of the most
important paintings of biblical and mythological subjects. The book will
be published to accompany the eponymous exhibition at the Mauritshuis,
The Hague, the Netherlands.
