Peasants Before an Inn

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Peasants Before an Inn

Artist Jan Steen (Dutch, 1626-1679)

Place of OriginNetherlands

Date1650s

DimensionsH: 19 3/4 in. (50.2 cm); W: 24 1/4 in. (61.6 cm)

MediumOil on wood panel

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1945.32

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 23

Label TextA bustling village tavern and inn draws not only peasants—some who boldly flirt or merrily dance—but also the prosperous middle class in their starched ruffed collars. The wreath hanging above the entrance announces the arrival of the new wine vintage, which may account for the crowd. Jan Steen was a master of boisterous scenes full of humorous anecdotes that often carried messages warning against foolish behavior. Did Steen intend such a meaning here? Some possible clues: the serving woman on the balcony tallies up the bar bill on a slate, perhaps symbolizing a “reckoning” for overindulgent behavior. The peasant prominently placed at the center of the composition seems slumped in a stupor from too much wine and tobacco. He is contrasted with the sunflower above him, emblem of those who devote themselves to God just as a sunflower always faces the sun. Though in 17th-century Dutch dominant culture images of peasants often signified boorish and sinful behavior, the middle class also were characterized as regarding peasants as enviably carefree (note the seated townsman watching the villagers with gentle amusement).Published References

Smith, J., A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters, London, IV, no. 133. (described in reverse; incorrect dimensions)

van Westrheene, T., Jan Steen étude sur l'art en Hollande, The Hague, 1856, no. 84 (incorrect dimensions).

Waagen, G., Galleries and Cabinets of Art in Great Britain, London, 1857, Supplement, p. 442 (incorrect dimensions).

Hofstede de Groot, C., A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century Based on the Works of John Smith, London, I, 1907, p. 645, (described in reverse; incorrect dimensions).

Meesterwerken uit Vier Eeuwen 1400-1800, Rotterdam, Boymans Museum, 1938, no. 140, p. 35, repr. pl. 100.

McCall, George Henry, Paintings by the Great Dutch Master of the 17th Century, New York, William Bradford Press, 1942, no. 59, repr. p. 151.

Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, no. 114, Dec. 1946, pp. 3-8, repr.

Art Digest, vol. XX, August 1, 1946, p. 11, repr.

Godwin, Molly Ohl, Master Works in the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, 1953, p. 24, repr. p. 25.

Wittmann, Otto, Jr., "The Life of the People," The Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 1, no. 3, Fall 1957, p. 5.

Wittmann, Otto, "The Golden Age in the Netherlands," Apollo, vol. 86, no. 70, Dec. 1967, p. 472.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, European Paintings, Toledo, 1976, p. 156, pl. 130.

Vial, Jane, "Musical Instruments: Woodwinds," The Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 20, no. 4, 1978, p. 102, repr. fig. 13 (det.).

Chapman, H. Perry, Jan Steen, Painter and Storyteller, Washington, National Gallery of Art, 1996, no. 5, pp. 113-115, repr. (col.). Westermann, Mariët, The Amusements of Jan Steen, Zwolle, 1997, p. 205, fig. 105.

Hedley, Jo, Jan Steen at the Wallace Collection, London, 1997, p. [5-6], fig. 4.

Mancoff, Debra N., Sunflowers, Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, 2001, repr. p. 43 (col.).

Old Master Paintings, New York, Christie's, 2014, repr. (col.) p. 73.

Kabayama, Koichi, Dutch Golden Age in Paintings, Kyoto, Kyoto University Press, 2015, repr. (det.) p. iv (text in Japanese).

Exhibition History

Rotterdam, Boymans Museum, Meesterwerken uit Vier Eeuwen 1400-1800, June 25-Oct. 15, 1938, no. 140.

New York, World's Fair, Masterpieces of Art, 1939, no. 360.

Detroit Institute of Arts, Masterpieces of Art from Foreign Collections, European Paintings from the New York and San Francisco World's Fairs, 1939, no. 47.

The Toledo Museum of Art, Masterpieces from the Two World's Fairs, 1940, no. 37.

Detroit Institute of Arts, Masterpieces of Art from European and American Collections, European Paintings from the Two World's Fairs of 1939, 1941, no. 53.

Cincinnati Art Museum, Masterpieces of Art, European Paintings from the New York and San Francisco World's Fairs, 1941, no. 68.

New York, Duveen Gallery, Paintings by the Great Dutch Master of the 17th Century, Oct. 8-Nov. 7, 1942, no. 59.

Washington, National Gallery of Art; Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Jan Steen, Painter and Storyteller, 1996-1997, no. 5.