Laban seeks the images hidden by Rachel

This 1661 painting of Laban seeking the images hidden by Rachel depicts the Old Testament scene from Genesis 31 in which Rachel conceals her father's household gods. Steen frequently treated biblical subjects with the same informal, theatrical approach he brought to genre scenes. 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...

The biblical narrative is rendered with Steen's characteristic combination of genre-like naturalism and dramatic staging, treating the Old Testament episode as a domestic drama of concealment and discovery.