Dutch Art

In the Golden Age of seventeenth-century Dutch Art, many painting masters came to light. Paintings of familiar scenes of domestic, everyday life became immensely popular among patrons; genre painting quickly became a branch of art in its own right. Many of these paintings, with or without purpose, contained hidden symbolic messages, some warning of the effects of a sinful life, with others providing a moral code in which one should inherit. Jan Steen’s The Feast of St. Nicholas is no exception. In this domestic scene, we see a Dutch family that has been visited by St. Nicholas and the joys and disappointments he has left for certain members. Steen’s The Feast of St. Nicholas is a strong narrative painting that is skewed with moralizing and symbolic messages throughout the composition.

In seventeenth-century Holland, a non-secular and moral battle between the Catholics and newly formed Protestants was emerging. Believing it to be superior above the less-ridged Protestants, Catholics were proud of their faith and Jan Steen was one of them. Steen believed strongly in his faith, and The Feast of St. Nicholas conveyed his beliefs of a commendable life through subtle narratives.

In Catholic tradition, the Feast of St. Nicholas itself occurred on December 5th when women would bake cakes and biscuits in the shape of the saint while children placed their shoes out hoping St. Nicholas would visit in the night and leave goodies inside. In Steen’s composition we are let into a Dutch home where St. Nicholas has just visited and deposited various items. In the foreground we see a festively dressed toddler who has been left a doll of John the Baptist, a saint who protected children against ailments that were common of the time period. This s...

... middle of paper ...

...jug which together represent the popular Dutch proverb “Kaart, kous en kan maken menig arm man” or “Card [gambling], stocking [women] and jug [drinking] make many a man poor” (Haak, 91). To further emphasis his message, Steen’s designation of the ship’s name, Rijn Uijt, literally translates to “cleaned out” or “broke”; all-in-all we see a ship that transports passengers who embody an un-kept lifestyle.

In seventeenth-century Holland, while other painters portrayed domestic still-lives and landscapes, Jan Steen chose to innovate a different path; portraying moralistic symbolism in his paintings. From small, minute symbolism conveyed through the use of everyday objects to the more obvious in scripted messages warning of the dangers of temptation and folly, Steen has emphasized the importance of living a chaste lifestyle though examples of how one should not behave.