'A Jan Steen household' is a well-known Dutch expression. It means an untidy, messy and dissolute household and order, diligence and neatness are lacking altogether. These are the kind of scenes Jan Steen (1626-1679) painted. Not much is known about the training of this Leiden-born painter. He is believed to have studied painting first in Utrecht with the German artist Nicolaus Knupfer, then in The Hague with the Dutch artist Jan van Goyen, whose daughter he married in 1649.

Necessity
Steen painted mainly because of necessity. He was often in financial trouble and paid off his debts with his paintings. Steen lived in The Hague until 1654, when he moved to Delft and, according to tradition and to make ends meet, adopted his father's occupation of brewer. Subsequently he returned to Leiden, where he opened a tavern in 1672. He died in 1679.

Humor
Jan Steen, the quintessential seventeenth-century Dutch painter, set himself apart from other painters with an astonishing range of brushwork skills and diversity of themes and genres. His works are renowned worldwide and he is known as one of the Dutch Golden Age painters. Undoubtedly, the very mention of his name will evoke a smile from many who recognize the great sense of humor in most of his works. However, Steen was more than just a humorous painter. His masterful technique and ingenious compositions reveal him to be an artist of great stature. Jan Steen succeeded in recording scenes of daily life in the 17th century: cheerful households, festive tavern scenes, playing children and barking dogs.

Municipal Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden owns a number of his paintings.