Jan Steen is known for his scenes of domestic life, in which humour is combined with a moralising intent. Literary or theatrical references often appear in his paintings, giving these familiar episodes a significance that extends beyond the anecdote itself. Born in Leiden in 1626, the son of a brewer, he attended the city’s university for one year from 1646.
His training then involved several apprenticeships whose details are not documented: first with Adriaen van Ostade, then perhaps with Nikolaus Knupfer, before he worked with Jan van Goyen. Admitted to the painters’ guild in 1648, he worked in several cities of the Dutch Republic over the following decades. Leiden remained his principal place of activity, with stays in The Hague, Delft and Haarlem; another source also mentions Utrecht. In 1672, he obtained permission to run an inn in Leiden.
Dated 1666, The Family Concert shows his comic range applied to an elegant scene, in a genre then associated with the works of Gerard ter Borch and Johannes Vermeer. The mill seen through the window, and the lute and recorder played by the young men, refer to images in contemporary emblem books associated with love. In the foreground, a boy imitates the adults: he plays the cello with a pipe and breaks one of its strings. The museum sees this as an allusion to the dangers of unrestrained passion. The work was part of the Art Institute of Chicago’s founding purchase of old master paintings in 1891 and remains at the heart of its collections.
This profile brings together identity references for Jan Steen and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
8 references are documented at Dobiaschofsky, Schuler, Genève Enchères, Lempertz, Piguet. Each record links to its source; the amounts are not a general valuation of the artist’s work.
Works recorded at auction
Photograph : Lempertz · Enlarge image ↗
Lempertz · Lot 2055
Landschaft an einem Fluss und mit einem Turm, davor be- oder entladen Männer einen Karren sowie weitere Figuren, darunter ein Reiter, eine Mutter mit Kindern und zwei rastende Männer
Oil on canvas
Original catalogue wording
Landschaft an einem Fluss und mit einem Turm, davor be- oder entladen Männer einen Karren sowie weitere Figuren, darunter ein Reiter, eine Mutter mit Kindern und zwei rastende Männer Öl auf Leinwand
SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record. Documentation updated : 2026-10-19
