Jan Steen (Leiden 1626-1679)

This Village Wedding by the Dutch maestro of narrative genre scenes, Jan Steen, is revealed slowly through the device of a pulled back - or in this case, wrapped up - curtain. In the center of this spacious room, a fiddler stands on a table, playing his tune to the dancing crowd. In front of him, a man who has drunkenly fallen off his chair is ridiculed by a young boy with a drum and a seated mother, too immersed in their laughter to notice the dog stealing meat from the platter at center. A young maid and soldier are hidden in a doorway to the left, the soldier's fingers crossed behind his back in the hope that his advances will be well-received. At the bride's table, a figure in clerical robes drinks heartily amidst a raucous game of pass the roemer.

Steen's condemnation of drunkenness is unmistakable, but he also plays his vignettes to humorous effect. His expressive figures caricaturing, in both gesture and appearance, contemporary popular culture, condemning the sins of drinking. He reinforces the transitory nature of drink-related pleasures, like adultery and lewdness, with vanitas motifs, such as the broken pitcher in the foreground. Steen's scenes were part of a proud tradition, dating to the Flemish artists David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690) and Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525/30-1569), whose style is clearly emulated in the face of the bride, hidden next to the central column.

Hofstede de Groot listed this work as signed and dated 1671. It may be the case that this dating is derived from his incorrect reading of the signature, 'JSTeen' as the artist's monogram and a date. However, the bright, soft colors and expansive interior filled with smaller figures place this work in the company of late works such as the Wedding Feast at Cana (Pasadena, Norton Simon Museum), which represented a final striking development, full of free, thinly applied brushstrokes and a new energy, in Steen's long career.