Peasant Revelry

592
Peasant Revelry
ca. 1668
Jan Steen
(Leiden, 1625/26 - Leiden, 1679)

This painting is an excellent example of the high accomplishments achieved during the flourishing of Dutch genre painting. Considering that the artist was also an inn-keeper, his predilection for portraying humorous scenes, glasses, jars, barrels, playing cards and musicians is not surprising. The composition is arranged in sharp Baroque diagonals, and opens up to show an animated landscape, painted with quick brush-strokes. This creates an impression of infinite depth, while the wall behind the children on the right also widens the scene.