Peasants merry-making outside an Inn

This 1647 painting of peasants merry-making outside an inn is among Steen's earliest works, showing the influence of Adriaen van Ostade and the Flemish kermesse tradition. The outdoor celebration allowed Steen to combine multiple figures with landscape setting. Steen's boisterous scenes employ a rich warm palette and broad comic invention placing him in the tradition of Bruegel and Adriaen van Ostade, while his figure painting shows the influence of his teacher Jan van Goyen. The moral dimens...

The early work shows Steen absorbing the tradition of outdoor celebration painting, with warm tonality and animated figures that already hint at the theatrical energy of his mature work.