Jan Steen's Histories

Exhibition at the Mauritshuis, The Hague, 15 February - 13 May 2018

Jan Steen (1626-1678), 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.

A lesser known fact is that he also painted history pieces: scenes based on episodes from the Bible, apocryphal writings and mythology. 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.

This richly illustrated publication, written by experts on Jan Steen, focuses on this little-known part of the artist's oeuvre.