DUBLIN.- 400 years after the birth of Jan Steen (1626–1679) – one of the leading Dutch painters of his time – the National Gallery of Ireland will host an intimate, FREE exhibition that looks at the variety of his extensive career.

Jan Steen: Sacred and Profane will feature seven works by the artist from Leiden, drawn from the National Gallery of Ireland’s collection as well as important loans from the Rijksmuseum, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, the Bredius Collection, the Bute Collection, and the National Gallery, London.

Celebrated for his satirical and chaotic domestic scenes, Steen’s name is still synonymous in the Dutch language with a disorderly household. But during his prolific career he also produced history paintings, portraits and refined genre scenes. This exhibition will highlight the variety of subject matters, united by his lively and characterful approach to painting.

Steen’s contradictory perspective between the sacred and the profane can be seen in the National Gallery’s own works by the artist. In The Village School (c. 1665, National Gallery of Ireland) a teacher reprimands a boy while one of the onlooking pupils smirks wickedly at his punishment. However, the coarseness of this scene is offset by the beautifully painted still life of glinting schoolhouse paraphernalia in the background; Steen’s paintings relish such paradoxes.

In The Marriage Feast at Cana (1665–1670, National Gallery of Ireland) Steen takes an episode from the Gospel of John where Christ performs his first miracle of turning water into wine. In this highly detailed scene, Christ is eclipsed by the many revellers, including a drunken man in the foreground whose wife tries to convince him to leave the festivities. This is emblematic of Steen’s humour and his mastery of theme and composition in religious painting.

The Wrath of Ahasuerus (1668–1670, Museum Bredius) captures the climax of the Book of Esther, where the Jewish Queen Esther reveals to King Ahasuerus the plot devised by Haman, the King’s vizier, to kill her people. Steen demonstrates his skills in representing expression to a theatrical degree, as the King rises in anger from the feasting table, while Haman cowers in his seat.

The influence of theatre in Steen’s painting is most apparent in Ascagnes and Lucelle (c. 1668–1670, Bute Collection, Mount Stuart), which depicts a scene from a play by the great Dutch playwright Gerbrand Adriaensz Bredero (1585–1618). Steen presents a sensitive portrayal of love between the play’s amorous couple. And yet the artist’s unfailing mischievousness still appears in this scene, as the comical character Lecker-beetje (‘Delicious Morsel’ in English) spies on the lovers.

With Baker’s Couple Arent Oostwaard and Catharina Keizerswaard (1658, Rijksmuseum) the artist combines three genres at once. It is a portrait of the bakers, a genre scene of their shop and a still life of their produce. The painting is a rare representation of a Dutch couple at work, who take pride in their business, and an exemplar of the humanity that Steen brought to portraiture.

Profoundly contrasting with the bakers, Steen casts a scathing eye on Dutch life in The Effects of Intemperance (1663–1665, National Gallery, London). In this disruptive household, one of the merrymakers indecorously stoops to offer wine to the pet parrot, and as the mother of the house dozes, a young pickpocket seizes the opportunity to steal from her. Steen does not shy away from exposing the foibles of the privileged.





A strong moral message is echoed in Easy Come, Easy Go (1661, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen), where the man seated at the table – who has the likeness of Steen himself – has all his desires satisfied, as he is treated to an oyster meal, flowing wine and good company. But the tric-trac game in the background counts among a number of symbols that suggest that the man’s good fortune may hastily disappear.

Through these seven major works, visitors to the Hugh Lane Room at the National Gallery of Ireland will get a focused look at the sheer breadth, detail and brilliance of this Dutch master.

Dr Lizzie Marx, Curator of the exhibition and Curator of Dutch & Flemish Art at the National Gallery of Ireland said: “This is a milestone year for one of the most prolific Dutch artists of the 17th century. We are delighted to mark the occasion with magnificent loans that speak to the diversity and quality of the artist’s work, his sensitivity to human character, and also his sense of humour.”

Dr Caroline Campbell, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, said: “Jan Steen is often regarded as one of the leading painters of the seventeenth century, and is celebrated for his ability to capture the facets and habits of the human character. This in-focus exhibition illustrates how Jan Steen approached each genre in varying ways, and I am excited for visitors to the National Gallery of Ireland to witness the artist’s unique ability to cover the spectrum of humanity, from the sacred to the profane. I extend my thanks to our colleagues in the National Gallery, London, the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, and the Museum Bredius, The Hague for their loans to this exhibition. I also thank our great friend and supporter Brian Baum, who continues his support of our programmes in loving memory of Una Wilson. ”