Jan Steen is a famous seventeenth-century Dutch genre artist. He painted more than eight hundred paintings that later inspired his followers.
Biography
Jan Steen was born in 1626 in the Dutch city of Leiden. His father was a successful brewer. The family owned a tavern called "Red Halbert" for two generations.
Ian was the eldest of eight children in the family. He received his primary education in Latin school. And in 1646 he entered the University of Leiden, but ended his studies. Instead, he became a student of the famous Dutch artist Nikolaus Knüpfer.
Leiden City View Photo: Vitum / Wikimedia Commons
Not surprisingly, the influence of the master is clearly visible in the work of the Wall. In addition, many experts note that the artist could be inspired by the works of Adrian van Ostade and Isaac van Ostade, although it is not known for certain whether he was their student.
Career and creativity
In 1648, Jan Steen, together with Gabriel Metsu, founded the Saint Luke Guild in Leiden. A year later, he became an assistant to the famous landscape painter Jan van Goyen. Stan later moved to The Hague, where he worked with Van Goyen until 1654.
The Hague City Photo: Rene Mensen / Wikimedia Commons
He then went to Delft to help his father rent the De Slang brewery. It is said that Stan also opened a tavern in his house. But not too successful in this matter
He continued to paint and, in 1655, created one of his masterpieces, “The Burgomaster of Delft and His Daughter.” In 1656, Stan moved to Warmond, where he lived until 1660. In his works of this period, the artist's increased interest in the image of a still life can be traced.
In 1660, Jan Stan moved to Haarlem, where he lived for about ten years and created many of his paintings. As a rule, during this period the artist depicted large and complex scenes in his works. For example, in 1667, the painting "Feast of Anthony and Cleopatra" was painted.
Haarlem City Photo: M.Minderhoud / Wikimedia Commons
In 1669, his wife Margriet died, and in 1970 his father passed away. Then Jan Stan decided to return to Leiden, where he spent the rest of his life. In 1672, a crisis occurred on the art market and Stan returned to family business, opening a tavern in his house. In parallel, the artist was engaged in writing paintings that differ in a certain grace from his earlier works.
In total, Jan Stan created more than eight hundred paintings in his life. Of these, only three hundred and fifty have survived to this day.
