A Man Blowing Smoke at Drunken Woman

This 1665 painting of a man blowing smoke at a drunken woman depicts a scene of tavern dissolution typical of Steen's moralizing genre subjects. Dutch genre painting frequently used scenes of intoxication and disorder as visual sermons against intemperance and moral laxity. Steen worked in oil on panel and canvas with a warm, rich palette reflecting his training under Jan van Goyen and his admiration for Gerrit Dou. His workshop output, produced alongside careers as brewer and innkeeper, comp...

The tavern scene demonstrates Steen's vivid characterization and theatrical composition, with the smoke-blowing gesture creating a visual joke that simultaneously entertains and admonishes the viewer.