The wedding night of Tobias and Sarah

Jan Steen's Wedding Night of Tobias and Sarah from 1668, in the Museum Bredius, depicts the apocryphal biblical story in which Tobias, following the angel Raphael's instructions, drives away the demon that has killed Sarah's seven previous husbands. Steen treats the dramatic supernatural subject with his characteristic combination of humor and narrative detail, setting the biblical scene in a contemporary Dutch bedroom. The Museum Bredius in The Hague preserves this work as part of one of the finest small Dutch painting collections.

Steen dramatizes the supernatural confrontation with strong chiaroscuro and animated figure poses within a detailed Dutch interior. His technique combines the careful rendering of domestic furnishings with more freely painted supernatural elements.