The Family Concert

Oil on canvasJan Steen (Dutch, 1626–1679)/1666

Description

This well-appointed interior sets the scene for the courtship ritual of music-making, through which men and women became acquainted by singing and playing instruments together. The boy in the foreground, mimicking the adults, strums a cello with a pipe and breaks a string, a subtle allusion to the perils of unbridled passion. Jan Steen, one of the Dutch Republic’s most prolific comic painters, crafted his scenes upon the contemporary notion that comedy mirrors everyday life.

Provenance

Sir Charles Bagot, Bart., by 1833 [according to Smith 1833]. Presumably Prince Anatole Demidoff, Villa San Donato, near Florence (died 1870); by descent to his nephew Prince Paul Demidoff (died 1885); offered for sale Florence, Pillet, Le Roy and Mannheim, March 15-April 10, 1880, no. 1054, engraved, bought in; by descent to Princess Demidoff (formerly Princess Lise Troubetzkoi), 1885; sold through Durand-Ruel, Paris, June 1890, as part of a group of Dutch and Flemish paintings, many from the Demidoff collection, with funds advanced by Martin A. Ryerson and other trustees of the Art Institute [annual report 1891]; the cost of 1891.65 was reimbursed by Timothy B. Blackstone.

Dimensions

86.6 × 101 cm (34 1/8 × 39 3/4 in.)

Source

The Art Institute of Chicago

Movement / Period

17th Century

Accession No

561

Official Citations

[The Art Institute of Chicago Official Record][Full Resolution Image]

Curatorial Affinity Stream

Continuing the Universe of Jan Steen (Dutch, 1626–1679)

17th Century • Holland • Harmonious Works & Contemporaries

Continuous Discovery