Twelfth-Night Feast

Jan Steen's Twelfth-Night Feast from 1662, now in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, depicts the boisterous celebration of Epiphany when a bean hidden in a cake determines the "king" of the feast. Steen, who ran a tavern in Delft and later in Leiden, brought firsthand knowledge of popular festivities to his raucous domestic scenes. The painting exemplifies the Dutch tradition of using festive genre scenes as vehicles for moralizing about excess, a message undermined by the infectious pleasure Steen takes in depicting revelry.

Steen packs the composition with animated figures, each contributing to the chaotic energy of the celebration. His technique combines careful observation of individual expressions and gestures with a looser, more energetic handling of the surrounding domestic clutter.