Interior of a Tavern, with Cardplayers and a Violin Player

This 1665 tavern interior with cardplayers and a violin player combines two of Steen's favorite subjects—gambling and music—in a scene of convivial disorder. Dutch tavern scenes served as both entertainment and moral warning against the dangers of idleness and vice. 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 d...

The busy tavern scene demonstrates Steen's ability to organize complex multi-figure compositions with varied activities, unified by warm interior light and animated by theatrical gesture.